The first cherries harvested in Apulia

Cherry grower Antonio Guglielmi from the southern Italian region of Apulia, owner of Naturaviva, picked the first cherries on Sunday 7 April. This is about two weeks earlier than last year. The fruit will be collected by the growers' association OP Agritalia and then commercialized by Orchidea Frutta, in collaboration with Spina Fruit.

"We expect to harvest and market everything by May," says the entrepreneur. "We harvest every three days. Last year we started on 23 April, this season we can start earlier thanks to the sunny days and a mild weather. The fruit is uniform in color and firm. The size of the fruit ranges from 28 to 32 mm for the traditional varieties and from 28 to 30 mm for the varieties with low chill hours."

We haven't had a lot of typical winter days and I think that has brought some consequences. "Many of the traditional varieties have not had enough chill hours, which has resulted in uneven growth. You can see that on the same tree there are flowers, buds opening, and fruit already formed, all at the same time. The varieties with low chill hours have not suffered from this."

Michele Laporta, president of OP Agritalia, is also pleased with the harvest. "We are among the first on the market. Summer is already in the air in Apulia, and in a few days, consumers will be able to enjoy the first Italian cherries of the year."