Jerte cherries will reduce their water consumption

The construction of a water purification plant in the Jerte Valley intends to reduce water consumption by 60%

Although Jerte cherries are rain fed trees that are watered most of the year from natural rainfall, the drought that the entire country is experiencing has put the Valle del Jerte Group of Cooperatives on alert and they have built a water purification plant that will reduce irrigation water consumption by 60%.

Fruit Today magazine talked to José Antonio Tierno and Mónica Tierno, Chairman and Manager of the Group, respectively.

Could it be said that you have not been affected by the drought as much as other stone fruit producers?

This is relative. We cultivate on rain fed land and we have a rainfall of 800-1.200 millilitres per year, concentrated in autumn, winter and the beginning of the spring. Irrigation is used in the summer to maintain the trees. The trees are used to suffering from dry periods because part of their production is carried out using rain water. We do have a shortage of water compared to other years, but at the moment the trees are not suffering, although it seems that we will have to start to irrigate earlier and that will be the time to take stock. The cherry trees from the Jerte Valley are rain fed trees and they are used to producing under these circumstances, but it is obvious that we will have to start irrigating earlier. The main effect of the lack of water will be the smaller calibres, with the rise in temperatures also influencing this fact. In any event, the varieties that have a smaller harvest usually have a larger calibre.

Furthermore, at this point of the year (week 19) and with the harvest as far ahead as it is, we really don’t want it to rain because otherwise water will split the cherries.

What are the forecasts for this campaign?

We started the season earlier than planned and in the first week of May we had already harvested the earliest cherries. This is completely opposite to the feelings we had in January, when we believed that the fruit was going to be late due to the weather conditions. However, the flowering coincided with Easter and since then the fruit has been slightly ahead because we have had higher temperatures than correspond to these dates.

What volume do you expect to harvest this year?

Here in the group, on average, we harvest between 17-20 million kilos, concentrated over three months. This year we are expecting an average campaign, which will be around 18-19 million kilos.

Are the first varieties the most suitable ones for foreign markets?

The extra-early varieties (Burlat, Royal Tioga…) have softer flesh and although they are focused on the foreign markets, these are not excessively distant destinations, therefore they travel well. Following this, we start harvesting the varieties with a firmer flesh, which are better at standing up to handling and travelling to any destination and, above all, the volume of the produce increases to be able to supply with complete guarantees.

From the middle of next week, we will have more volumes of the firmer varieties, which can withstand handling, export… better, and we are going to have to make a great effort to work in a normal way with all our clients.

However, the Picota cherry is the variety that draws all the attention in the Valley.

We have excellent varieties, but the Picota is unique, and it is also a product that is covered by a Denomination of Origin. It takes up 30% of our production and it is characterised by being a cherry that is marketed without a stalk. Although it is not the main production variety, it is the differentiating one. It is smaller than a normal cherry and it has a shelf life of 15-20 days, which doesn’t happen with the other varieties. Its uniqueness lies in the fact that it is only produced in this valley and we have always promoted it as a Spanish native product.

Is export one of your strong points?

Yes, it is. Our produce is very well accepted in Europe and we have an extensive sales network. Between 50% and 60% of our cherries are destined for markets outside the European Union and, to a lesser extent, other more distant destinations, such as the Arab Emirates.

In addition to the Zalama brand, there is now the recently presented ‘Jerteña’ insignia.

Yes, indeed it is a brand that we registered many years ago, but we have not been using it. Now it has entered our production portfolio as a tribute to the women of the Jerte Valley, who have done, and continue to do, so much for this region.

What competition do Jerte Valley cherries have?

In Spain, Aragon is the important production area, but internationally-speaking, we have Italian cherries and, above all, the Turkish production. Other countries supply themselves when they have their own fruit and it does not coincide with ours in time, such as the United Kingdom and Belgium.

Last year, many production areas, such as France or Italy, did not have any home production and they became an important market. The last cherry campaigns have not been bad in spite of the difficulties (the pandemic, inflation, increases in costs…). Cherries cannot be stored; a great deal of produce floods the market over a very short period of time and it is very difficult to regulate the market.

Can you give me the figures for this second degree cooperative?

We are first second degree cooperative that was created in Spain, and we bring together 15 first degree cooperatives, 11 from the Jerte Valley and 4 from the Vera region. In total, we make up around 3,000 farmers. The land ownership is very small and is about 2.5 ha of cherry orchard per farmer.

The region is a unique place because there is a great attachment to the land and people try to maintain the fields that they inherit, although the generational changeover is starting to become a problem because cherries need a great deal of manpower and the farmers are opting for more mechanised crops. A hectare of land can be divided up over different fields at different altitudes and this is always an added difficulty.