Due to announcement of the arrival of The Niña phenomenon associated with fewer rains and low temperatures.
During this year, 2024, the weather has been good for Chile and his farmers. The rains have provided the water needs for this year, not with a great surplus, but enough to have no worries during this season; on the other side the hours of cold accumulated have been suitable.
Regarding this last thing, a PIT like D’Agen, ideally, needs over 700 hours of cold weather, under 7o C to obtain a good even, uniform blooming. This year, according to Sebastián Aguilera, chief of producers of South 365, we have over 700 hours in all the important areas of prune production.
We have to remember that last year there were areas where only 370 to 400 hours of cold were reached and others with 500 to 600 hours which is clearly insufficient. This produced extremely uneven buds and blooming. Following this we had a cold and humid spring.
But we cannot count our chickens before they hatch. So far, the forecasts have been accurate: “the estimations of few rainy days with a lot of rainfall were accurate” and now it has been forecasted the arrival of the Niña phenomenon during the end of winter and beginning of spring which is associated to low temperatures and little rain.
A strong frost, 1o C or 2o C during September or October can burn the fruit and destroy a year of work, says Sebastián Aguilera. “Of course, it depends a lot on the phenological state of the plum at the time of frost: at the beginning, (swollen bud) the tolerance can reach -5o C, but with set fruits -1o C is enough to damage the fruit”.
This is the reason why “given the possibilities of frosts in South 365 we are waiting until the end of October to make estimations of production volumes for 2025.”
Given these conditions, the expert gives some recommendations:
First, to be aware if you are in an area that has historically experimented frosts; if this is so, it is recommended to have defined strategies to control or diminish the impact the frosts could have.
Second, it is NOT recommended to try to move the sprouting ahead in areas were frosts have been known to happen before because if it is done a possible frost can catch the fruit in a more delicate state of sprouting. Ideally frost should happen when the buds are starting to swell; in this moment they resist better the frosts; but as the development of the fruit progresses, the fruit is more delicate.
Since we are still pruning some orchards, one option is to prune less so as to allow for a bigger number of fruits in the trees. In this way if a frost hits us we have more alternatives. If it does not frost, you can thin the tree.
“I want to emphasize that every year the number of orchards that return the pruning leftovers to the soil increases; this is one of the practices aligned with sustainability policies that we are pushing forward in Chileprunes” says the expert.
Regarding tools to control frosts, the first thig that comes to my mind is a frost control tower; it is expensive but can be an alternative. The other thing are dragons or control machines that with flames and turbines make hot air flow through the orchard. It is key to calculate the time the tractor takes moving around the orchard and the number of tractors you need to have a good control. Moreover, the tractors have to be 100% ready to be used in case they are needed.
Another alternative is sprinkling control which consists in simulating rain in the exact moment; but you have to be completely sure to have the precise system and the amount of water needed to sprinkle during the whole time the frost lasts because if something goes wrong during the frost it is even more risky than the frost itself.
Regarding the producers area, Sebastián Aguilera says that with a mark in service “we are in charge of going down our producer’s orchards and keeping them connected with the progress of the season from a productive as well as commercial point of view”.
About South 365 Company
South365 is a company that was born in 2017 and offers dried plums, walnuts, almonds and other dried fruits to the most demanding palates in the world.
With a central office in Vitacura, Santiago de Chile, its business model is via consignment, providing a complete service that ranges from support in the harvest, with sessions with the producers, to the drying, packaging and subsequent sale of the product, including all marketing, plus international certifications.
“We work with more than 50 producers from the central valley of Chile, located between the Valparaíso Region and the Ñuble Region, in the south. Of them, over 30 are linked exclusively to prunes, our main product in terms of volume and FOB sales,” its partners point out. In fact, of the total volume exported, among all nuts, 3,500 tons of nearly 5,000 are dehydrated plums, being among the 10 main Chilean brands in this category.
South365 exports to more than 45 markets on 5 continents, with a strong presence in European countries for dried plums, although Asia has been growing strongly in recent years as an attractive continent for prunes consumption.
