South Africa: Early rains & cool weather delay ZZ2 cherry harvest

Excellent early summer rain and cool weather over the South African Highveld have delayed the start of ZZ2’s cherry harvest by a few days; the first cherries for airfreight to the UK will be picked tomorrow. “Despite the warm winter I expect we’ll have more fruit than last year,” says Pieter de Wet, Bushveld cherry pioneer. “We’ve had unbelievable fruit set.” 

The severe hailstorm that hit areas west of Johannesburg yesterday fortunately didn't reach the farm.

Vultures and eagles occasionally glide over these cherry orchards, adjoining the Buffelspoort Conservancy, 30km southeast of Rustenburg in the dry Northwest Province of South Africa. This area would be furthermost from most people’s minds when they think of cherry cultivation in South Africa, which until recently was concentrated in the much colder eastern Free State, Mpumalanga Highveld and the apple-producing Koue Bokkeveld.

Pieter de Wet and his brother Nols had been farming with peaches and nectarines on their farm in the foothills of the Magaliesberge, when a trip to the USA changed the course of their farming enterprise. “We were looking for new peach varieties and our consultant, Prof Daan Strydom, knows the guys from Zaiger Genetics well. We were visiting peach farmers in California who told us peaches had become a commodity, they were looking at other high-value crops to survive, specifically cherries and blueberries. So I chose cherries and my brother chose blueberries,” Pieter de Wet recounts in an orchard of Minnie Royal and Royal Lee trees, where an air cannon booms every so often to deter birds, monkeys and baboons.

The first cherries were planted 10 years ago and the initial marketing was done by themselves, sending the first consignments to UK traders who realised that what they had were cherries with high Brix value, if somewhat small, at a time when there are no cherries elsewhere in the world. “About three years ago I made a presentation to ZZ2 on the potential of cherries and they were very excited. They’re prepared to take chances and we’re very happy to be associated with them. There’s massive potential in cherries.”

The Northwest farm, where new varieties are constantly trialled, has two younger counterparts which are largely mirror images of the first: a farm located conveniently close to Johannesburg and Lanseria Airport, with colder winter temperatures which provides scope for more cherry varieties (“I think the Lanseria farm is going to be a beauty,” he says). Near Polokwane, Limpopo Province, ZZ2 is investing in further cherry plantings, where the first harvest from the initial half-hectare trial block is expected next year. The cherries from this farm could even be a bit earlier than those from the Northwest farm.

The timing of ZZ2’s cherries could not be better. “When cherry growers in Chile start with their first variety, we’re already busy with our third variety and your varieties improve as the season progresses, becoming larger with better sugar,” De Wet explains. As it is, they’re achieving extremely pleasing Brix levels, getting 26, even 30. 

“Last year as we were in the second half of our second variety, Chile started coming in with large fruit, so we decided to market that fruit to the local industry where we did really well. The Western Cape comes in with Chile, about a month after us, and by that time we want to be finished. It’s a very short, compact season. It’s like a Ferrari: they flower and almost six weeks later the fruit’s ready.”

Apart from the UK, there’s a healthy market for the cherries in the Far East, as well as in the Middle East and India. Last year 40 tonnes were exported; this year that could be up by 20 tonnes.

“Even though this is the Northwest Province we still have a very special microclimate here. The maximum daytime temperature is milder than in Rustenburg which lies about 400 to 500m below us.” He continues: “The Magalies Mountains shade us from hail, so we’re fortunate in that respect. All of our new plantings will be under black shade netting because it just softens the climate. It can still get really hot here and we get dry winds at the end of September and beginning of October. You can manipulate a cherry to a large degree through pruning, or playing around with light. Shade netting makes a big difference.”

The farm follows ZZ2’s famous natuurboerdery (nature farming) principles and their fountain water is purified by the quartzite of the Magaliesberge. “Our soil type is red Hutton. Consultants sometimes joke the soil could be bagged and sold as compost in the Cape!”

Ten bee hives per hectare are brought in for about three weeks during flowering, but the healthy population of wild bees ensure very complete fruit set. The farm’s cherry blossoms have also become a sought-after feature in the Rustenburg community’s wedding photos.

Cherries during October isn’t the only unique feature of the farm – there is an endemic orchid growing on its slopes; its nocturnal pollination by a moth was photographed for the very first time on the farm.

Pieter de Wet is effusive about his cherries. “Cherries are on the cusp of big things. I can’t wait for the other two farms to come into production.”

For more information:

Clive Garrett

Tel: +27 15 395 2040

Email: [email protected]