In most regions of Moldova, harvesting of walnuts of early varieties has begun (mainly local selection – “Peschansky”, “Kazaku”, etc.). Specialists from the Union of Associations of Nut Crops Producers of Moldova claim that in a number of regions of the country, early nut fruits reached biological ripeness ten days to two weeks ago. However, due to the fact that during the specified period there was no at least slight precipitation in Moldova, even dew does not form in the mornings, and the green pericarp of the nut does not crack – this complicates post-harvest cleaning and drying of the products.
Under the current conditions, industry union experts recommend that walnut growers evaluate the possibility of postponing the harvest of ripe nuts for another few days or a week.
In addition, due to the very hot weather in August, sunburn of fruits is observed in young walnut orchards, which can cause darkening of the nut kernel, which reduces their commercial value, EastFruit reports. However, according to the observations of walnut growers, this year, the quality of walnuts in Moldova (caliber and fullness of the fruit) is higher than last season.
Therefore, it is very important to perform all technological operations correctly at the stage of harvesting and post-harvest processing of products. Industry union specialists have not yet changed the optimistic forecast for the 2023 harvest – about 34 thousand tons of walnuts (in-shell).
For more information: east-fruit.com