New Zealand’s cherry growers are expecting an early harvest this year, thanks to one of the warmest springs in more than a decade.
Cherries are usually picked from late November, but growers in Central Otago could start picking before Christmas this year — about one to two weeks earlier than normal.
Mike Casey, who grows cherries near Cromwell in Central Otago, said the warm weather had helped his trees along. “It’s been great for bringing the trees on early,” he said. “We had reasonable chilling hours. We had really good pollination days. We now have quite an awesome crop on the trees.”
Most of Casey’s cherries are exported overseas, timed to arrive before Chinese Lunar New Year celebrations in February. But he said the final result still depends on the weather between now and harvest. “Is it going to be wetter for us, which will be damaging for our cherries, or is it going to be nice and dry, in which case we could be expecting one of the best seasons in quite some time?” he said.
Over in Marlborough, cherry grower Simon Bishell, of Caythorpe Farm near Blenheim, is hoping for good weather too. His cherries are grown for Kiwi shoppers rather than for export, and are usually ready by the end of November.
“We hope for a nice fine settled weather period leading into harvest,” Bishell said, “so we can ensure that we have a nice supply of good quality summer fruit available for Kiwis to enjoy this summer.”
Cherries are a delicate fruit, and heavy rain close to harvest time can easily damage the crop.
For now, growers are keeping a close eye on the forecast — and hoping for plenty of sunshine over the weeks ahead.
Te Reo Māori
He Kōanga Mahana Pea e Moata ai nga Cherry
Kei te tūmanako nga kaiwhakatipu cherry o Aotearoa ki tētahi kohinga moata i tēnei tau, nā tētahi o nga kōanga mahana rawa atu i roto i te tekau tau neke atu.
Ko te tikanga, ka tīkina nga cherry mai i te mutunga o Noema, engari ka taea pea e nga kaiwhakatipu o Central Otago te tīmata tīkina i mua i te Kirihimete i tēnei tau — kotahi ki te rua wiki i mua i te wā ārikarika.
Ko Mike Casey, he kaiwhakatipu cherry e noho tata ana ki Cromwell i Central Otago, i kī he āwhina nui te huarere mahana ki ana rākau. “I tino pai mō te whakatere wawe mai i nga rākau,” tāna i kī. “He pai nga haora mātao, he pai hoki nga rā whakawhakina. Kei te whai mātou i tētahi kohinga whakamīharo i runga i nga rākau.”
Ko te nuinga o nga cherry a Casey ka tukuna ki tāwāhi, kia tau mai i mua i nga whakanuinga o te Tau Hou Hainamana i te marama o Pēpuere. Engari i kī ia kei te whakawhirinaki tonu te hua whakamutunga ki te huarere ā muri mai. “Ka makuku pea, he kino tērā mō a mātou cherry, kāore rānei — ka maroke, ka pai pea, ā, ka tū pea tēnei ko tētahi o nga wā tino pai rawa atu,” tāna i kī.
I Marlborough, kei te tūmanako hoki a Simon Bishell, o Caythorpe Farm e tata ana ki Blenheim, ki te huarere pai. Ka whakatipuria ana cherry mā nga kaihoko o Aotearoa, kaua mā te tuku ki tāwāhi, ā, ka maiea i te mutunga o Noema.
“Kei te tūmanako mātou ki tētahi wā huarere pai, māroro hoki, i mua i te kohinga,” tāna i kī, “kia taea ai e mātou te whakarato i tētahi huanga raumati pai mā nga Kiwi.”
He hua ngoikore nga cherry, ā, ka ngawhā whāwhā i te ua nui ina tata te wā kohinga.
Ināianei, kei te matapae tonu nga kaiwhakatipu i te huarere — me te tūmanako ki te rā mahana i nga wiki e tū mai nei.
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