Inor Ag. Assmann
54
Extraordinary
Organizationoftheapplesectoranticipates
above-averagecropasfarasqualityandvolume
recoverygo, inthe2016/17growingseason
A
real paradise is unfolding be-
fore the eyes of those who
are picking the first fruits of
the apple trees concentrated
(99%) in South Brazil, in the
2016/17 growing season. Brazilian apple
harvest started as of January 2017 with
the Gala variety, followed by the Fuji va-
riety in March, and they account for 95%
of the entire production. Harvest normal-
ly finishes in May, a time when year round
conservation technologies come in. First
pickings are pointing to a picture of ex-
cellent quality fruits. Furthermore, the
amount already picked signals a recovery
from the previous season, which was ad-
versely affected by climate problems.
In late January 2017, the Brazilian As-
sociation of Apple Producers (ABPM) reg-
istered the beginning of the harvest of
“one of the most extraordinary crops in
terms of quality”. President Pierre Nicolas
Péres justified that “the main producing
regions were rewarded with climate con-
ditions absolutely favorable to the culti-
vation of the fruit”. In his understanding,
such situations as a rather coldwinter and
moderately rainy spring in 2016, besides
insignificant hailstorm incidences, were
resulting into a crop of big apples, of ex-
