The 2009 sweet cherry crop will come in a little later than usual, but it’s expected to be well worth waiting for.
Matt Whiting at the WSU Irrigated Agriculture Research and Extension Center said a cold early spring followed by a warm spell of three or four days “concentrated the blooms nicely for fruit set.”
Whiting is a specialist in tree fruit production, physiology and genetic improvement in sweet cherry, apricot, and other soft fruit.
“We got a very high fruit set,” Whiting said.
He said the 2009 crop was in “stark contrast” to last year’s, when cold weather wiped out large blocks of cherries, even after growers had stretched their budgets to provide frost control.
Whiting downplayed the effect of a large crop on prices.
He said he didn’t necessarily believe that a big crop would translate into a lower price to growers.
“We’ll compete with cherries from anywhere,” said Whiting. “We know we’ve got the quality.”
He said he was “not particularly concerned” about the effect of the size of the crop on market prices.
However, he said the later harvest of the crop could push it past July 4, which is traditionally the peak demand.
Whiting said normally there are some cherries in the region being harvested in May, and he hadn’t seen that this year.
“We’re about a week later than typical,” Whiting said.
A large, late cherry crop can create the potential for a shortage of labor to get the crop off the trees, but Whiting said he hadn’t heard of any shortages so far.
He also acknowledged that the weather can have a profound effect, right up to the time harvest begins.
“Cherries are a tough crop to grow,” said Whiting. “There’s always the potential for failure.”
A Cherry Field Day will be held at the IAREC facility in Prosser June 25, Whiting said, beginning at 3 p.m.
IAREC is on Bunn Road north of Prosser, and can be reached at 509-786-2226.