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Know Your Commodity — Cherries Page 1 of 7
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Cherries
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Cherries
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Cherries
Know Your Commodity
REFERENCES
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Cherries
Cherries (Prunus spp.) are members of the Rosaceae (or rose) family along with almonds, apricots, peaches, and plums. The two most
common types of cherries are sweet cherries (Prunus avium L.) and sour (Prunus cerasus L.), often called tart cherries.
Originally brought to the United States by English colonists in the early 1600s, Spanish missionaries brought cherries west to California.
California remains the U.S.’s top producer of sweet cherries, and along with Washington and Oregon, all three states account for nearly
90% of cherry production in the country. Sour cherries are grown primarily in Michigan and account for almost 74% of production.
Sources: Agricultural Marketing Resource Center, Purdue University Extension, UC Davis Fruit/Nut Research & Information Center,
Western Growers Association.
SEASONAL AVAILABILITY
CALIFORNIA
MICHIGAN
NEW YORK
OREGON
WASHINGTON
CANADA
CHILE
Sources: Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada, California Agricultural Statistics Review, Michigan Department of Agriculture, New York State Department
of Agriculture and Markets, Oregon State University, Produce Marketing Association, USDA, Washington State Department of Agriculture.
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Cherries
TYPES, VARIETIES & CUTS
Cherries can generally be classified as sweet or sour/tart. Less common varieties include Duke Cherries – a hybrid of sweet and sour,
and Blushed Yellow Cherries – considered a niche category that is difficult to grow and generally more expensive. About 75% of sweet
cherries are grown for the fresh market with the rest sent for processing. Conversely, 99% of sour cherries are processed.
The most common sour cherry variety is Montgomery. Popular sweet cherry varieties include Benton, Bing, Brooks, Chelan, Coral,
Lambert, Lapin, Rainer, Regina, Royal Ann, Skeena, Sweetheart, Tieton, and Tulare. Low-chill California varieties begin the harvest
season in mid-April and continue until June when the Washington harvests commence. Oregon follows and U.S. Pacific Northwest
harvests end in August, while Canada extends into September.
Fresh market standards for cherries are strict as the fruit is fragile and easily damaged. Fruit not meeting standards is sent for
processing, where cherries are frozen, canned, juiced, brined, dried, or made into wine. Sweet cherries are often processed into
Maraschino cherries and sour cherries are more often frozen.
Sources: Agricultural Marketing Resource Center, Michigan State University, Purdue University Cooperative Extension Service, UC Davis
Fruit/Nut Research & Information Center, Washington State Fruit Commission.
PESTS & DISEASE
Cherries are susceptible to several diseases including alternaria rot, blue mold, cladosporium rot, bacterial canker, black knot, brown rot,
cherry buckskin disease, cherry leaf spot, crown rot, gray mold, rhizopus rot, phytophthora root rot, and powdery mildew.
Cherry leaf spot and cherry buckskin disease are two of the more serious diseases. Cherry leaf spot is characterized by small red to purple
spots on leaves. The spots grow and turn a brownish color, bleeding through to the underside of leaves. During wet or humid periods,
small white patches appear in the center of the spots, which contain fungal spores. Infected leaves later turn yellow and fall from
the tree.
Symptoms of cherry buckskin disease (also known as X-disease) vary depending on the rootstock, but can include pale foliage with a red
tint that curls upwards, pits and grooves in the tree’s wood, smaller than normal leaves, and sparse foliage. Fruit may also be lighter
colored and pointed with a leathery texture (i.e., buckskin).
Pests of concern include the American plum borer, black cherry aphid, black cherry fruit fly, western cherry fruit fly, cherry leafhopper,
cherry maggot, cherry slug larvae, European red mite, lesser peachtree borer, oblique-banded leafroller, and plum curculio.
The western cherry fruit fly and cherry leafhopper are two of the more serious pests. The western cherry fruit fly lays eggs that turn into
maggots inside the fruit, potentially infesting every cherry on the tree. The cherry leafhopper is of particular concern because it can
spread cherry buckskin disease (see above). These dark brown insects, whose shape and color mimic cherry buds, prefer cherry trees
above other possible hosts.
Sources: Cornell University, Penn State Extension, Purdue University, University of California Cooperative Extension, Utah State University
Cooperative Extension, Washington State University.
CULTIVATION, STORAGE & PACKAGING
Preharvest:
Ideal soil for cherry trees is deep, silt loam with low alkalinity and salinity. Cherries can, however, thrive on many types of soil provided
it is well-drained and doesn’t remain heavy with moisture for long periods. Growers commonly plant sod in rows between tree rows,
which are planted in solid blocks on a 1 to 1.5 foot raised ridge to encourage drainage and facilitate self-pollinators. Good air flow
around the trees is important to discourage frost pockets.
Sour cherries are self-fertile, while sweet cherries are self-incompatible and need another cultivar for pollination. Sweet cherry orchards
need one alternate cultivar for every 8 or 9 trees. Planting at least 2 or 3 cultivars in an orchard is best for ideal pollination. For some
sweet cultivars, members of the same group will not pollinate each other, so growers must select compatible varieties within a
grouping. For both types of cherry, 1 or 2 two honeybee hives per acre is best.
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Cherries
CULTIVATION, STORAGE & PACKAGING—CONTINUED
Sweet cherries bloom before sour cherries, but both flower in early spring and are susceptible to frost damage. Cherry trees require a
dormancy season with extended temperatures between 35 and 55°F to bloom during warmer spring temperatures. Cherries grow for
about 60 days after flowering and mature just over 3 months after pollination. Spurs that are at least 2 years old produce flowers and
fruit. Early picking is not an option as cherries can only ripen on the tree, not after harvest.
As trees mature, they are typically trained to either encourage growth along a few selected shoots (open-center training) or structured
along a trellis (espalier training). Orchards are pruned each year to limit tree size and control growth; allow sunlight to penetrate the
canopy; promote air circulation; strengthen trees; balance fruiting, flower growth, and vegetative growth; and prevent disease and insect spread. Pruning is generally done by hand, a time and labor-intensive process.
Sweet cherries are hand-harvested and usually picked by color and size as the fruit gets larger and firmer as it ripens. Signs of maturity
in both sweet and sour cherries include overall color from light to deep red and 14 to 16% soluble solids content, which can be
measured with a refractometer. Ideal color varies depending on variety, but fleshy, green stems are an additional quality indicator for
any type of cherry.
Heavy rains before harvest can cause significant crop losses due to cracking. Cracking is more common in sweet cherries than in tart.
Sweet cherry picking is labor-intensive, usually requiring upwards of 25 or more workers per acre to complete picking in one day.
Sour cherries destined for processing can be mechanically harvested as they part more easily from trees as they ripen.
Postharvest:
Cherries are very fragile and easily damaged; it is best to pick during cooler parts of the day. It is particularly important to cool cherries
as soon as possible after harvest, ideally within two hours. Humidity control is also important to prevent rapid moisture loss. (100%
humidity is ideal).
Cherries have a high respiration rate, causing self-heating that must be counteracted to avoid damage and mold. Many growers use hydrocooling immediately after harvest, followed by cleaning and sorting, sometimes with an additional cooling operation just
before packaging.
Fresh market sour cherries have a storage life of 3 to 7 days at 32°F and 90 to 95% relative humidity. Fresh market sweet cherries have
a storage life of 2 to 3 weeks at 30 to 32°F and 90 to 95% relative humidity. Cherries do produce a small amount of ethylene, but are
not responsive to ethylene for ripening.
Sources: Agricultural Marketing Resource Center, Cornell University, Purdue University, UC Davis Postharvest Technology website,
University of Kentucky, University of Maine Cooperative Extension, Washington State University.
GOOD ARRIVAL GUIDELINES
Generally speaking, the percentage of defects shown on a timely government inspection certificate should not exceed the percentage of
allowable defects, provided: (1) transportation conditions were normal; (2) the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) or Canadian
Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) inspection was timely; and (3) the entire lot was inspected.
SWEET CHERRIES U.S. No.1
U.S. Grade
Standards
12-6-2
Days Since
Shipment
5
4
3
2
1
% of Defects
Allowed
15-8-3
14-8-3
13-7-2
13-6-2
12-6-2
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Optimum
Transit Temp.
32
Know Your Commodity REFERENCES —
Cherries
GOOD ARRIVAL GUIDELINES—CONTINUED
SWEET CHERRIES Wash No.1
U.S. Grade
Standards
24-6-2
Days Since
Shipment
5
4
3
2
1
% of Defects
Allowed
30-8-3
29-8-3
27-7-2
26-6-2
24-6-2
Optimum
Transit Temp.
32
Canadian good arrival guidelines (unless otherwise noted) are broken down into five parts as follows: maximum percentage of defects, maximum
percentage of permanent defects, maximum percentage for any single permanent defect, maximum percentage for any single condition defect, and
maximum for decay. Canadian destination guidelines for both types of sweet cherries are 15-10-5-10-3.
Sources: DRC, PACA, USDA.
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