Protective rain covers are a way for growers to protect their crop against climatic factors. NSW Department of Primary Industries are working with local NSW growers to better understand the impact of using protective rain covers in cherry orchards.
Cherry production is expanding quickly into new geographic regions in NSW due to recent growth in demand from overseas markets for high quality cherries. Each year, cherry production is challenged by adverse weather conditions that impact both yield and quality. Rain events around harvest can induce cherry cracking which will downgrade a cherry to unsaleable. Retractable rain covers to shield fruit from rain can be highly effective at minimising the impact of rain events but are expensive and labour intensive to deploy each season. Some automated systems can reduce the labour needs but come at a premium price point for growers. The use of these protective rain covers in cherry orchards has not been widely adopted in NSW for reasons including cost of installation, perceived impact on quality and the extra time needed to manage the covers.
Protective rain covers have the potential to increase yield and quality through reduced cracking and splitting. Other benefits have included more control over irrigation and spray management, and reduced wind damage.
Climate for cherry production
Sweet cherries are sensitive to climatic variables during the growing season including frost, wind, rain and heat. Climate change might reduce the dormancy period, where temperatures are cool enough to accumulate winter chill portions, which might delay or advance bud burst and flowering. Temperatures exceeding 30oC can also negatively impact fruit size and firmness. During the growing season extreme events such as frost, excessive wind, and heat waves can reduce yield and quality.
Across Australia, agricultural growing regions can expect changes to climatic conditions. Overall, Australians can expect numerous changes to climate (Figure 1).
Image: Projections of Australia’s average temperature over the next two decades. Source: Bureau of Meteorology (2022).
The main cherry growing regions in NSW are Young, Orange, Hillston, Bilpin Mudgee, Tumut and Batlow. Future climate projections suggest that these regions could see an increase in overnight and daytime temperatures, more variable rainfall, and an increase in drought conditions (AdaptNSW, 2022).
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*Research article information source NSW DPI.
