This week, we report the present and bright future of the ARRA™ Varieties in Petrolina, Brazil. The São Francisco Valley is leading the way in the cultivation of grapes in tropical conditions and it’s one of the few regions in the world with 2 harvests per year. Today we bring you the established ARRA Varieties as well as new ARRA selections bearing characteristics that will meet the demands of the producers and the market.
The Queen, ARRA 15, continues to hold the crown. Despite the challenging first semester, the new season is back on track and everything is going according to plans. The growers in Petrolina are currently working on finishing their second semester’s export to the European market and are very happy with the results.
“Mr. Paulo Massato Sasaki from Coana produced the most beautiful, ARRA 34 I have ever seen”. Exclaimed Russaika Nascimento, ARRA Agronomist in Brazil describing this season’s harvest. Russaika adds: “I think that from the photos anyone can clearly see how wonderful this crop is, simply perfect.”
ARRA 34 as a white mid-season variety is definitely one of a kind due to its berry shape and size, its fresh eating quality, shiny color, and ease of growing.
Russaika adds: “Along with Mr. Sasaki from Coana, Mr. Antonio Pereira from Coopexvale also produced a great crop in his fields which was especially excellent considering this was the first year production. Reporting even more success from Coopexvale, Mr. Diego Arbusti’s ARRA 34 exceeded all expectations with an even better quality crop than the previous season.
ARRA 33-31+7, a red mid-season selection, is indeed a great option for Brazilian growers. It is easy to produce, and it reaches a great color naturally in different climate conditions. Mr. Alvaro Solano from Coopexvale, as seen in the below pictures, has packed mixed punnets of the ARRA 33-31+7 with ARRA Sweeties™ (ARRA 15), a true match made in heaven. Uniquely grown in Brazil, the growers are currently focusing on this variety due to its incredible performances in rainy tropical climates.
Special Fruit’s field manager, Hemerson Rodrigues, informed us that more than 95% of the production packed is Class 1. Clearly, we can see how well this selection adapted to the Brazilian environment.
Another very successful season for Frutos do Sol. Experts in growing ARRA 32, they achieved great results. With large, sweet and crunchy berries, this unique late black variety is the hit of the season.
The new arrival of the season, ARRA 28-85+2 is planted in Agrivale in an evaluation test block, it is already performing very well with its elongated attractive berries and its slight muscat flavor.
The Brazilian ARRA team reported to us: “This variety is still under evaluation and we are working to understand how to optimally adapt it to the Brazilian climate. This is our third pruning cycle and every year, thanks to protocol management, we can see better and better results. This season the grapes look very promising, which means we are on the right path”.
The Jackpot of the season! Sweet, crunchy and large elongated berries with excellent acid-sugar balance and a shining deep red color, ARRA 94B-35+4 is one of the most promising among the new red ARRA selections. Currently under evaluation in Brazil, we can find it in Ibatuba farm (Coopexvale).
Russaika says: “We are very optimistic about this variety, the results that we have seen so far are extremely good and we keep on learning. With the current results we are highly confident and we look forward to the next season in order to increase the plantation and to continue the evaluation of this selection”.
Finally, after years of experimenting with the new ARRA selections and researching for the most adaptable varieties for the unique Brazilian environment, we can finally say that we are on the right direction and we are providing an answer to the ARRA growers in need of extending their current plantation.
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We have a crush on this intense cherry-colour variety with its large, elongated, berries. This mid-late variety that boasts excellent sugar-acid balance, cherry flavour and sensational crunch, delights in appearance, taste and eating experience. Proven to be fully rain resistant, the variety also has excellent fertility and exceptional storage ability. It is the ultimate long shipping variety with the best shelf life in the industry.
ARRA CHERRY CRUSH™ literally has it all!
In short: THE ULTIMATE RED.
This established early red variety boasts a beautiful, natural, full red colour. It’s large, crunchy berries offer a fantastic eating quality. Good productivity, extraordinary hanging ability, shipping durability and shelf life, make it a choice early red.
The earliest existing red variety in the market ripens naturally 4-5 days before Flame. The advantageous short cycle, natural full red colour, together with large, sweet, crunchy berries make this a perfect Flame replacement. ARRA Fire Kiss has proven to be very fertile and grower friendly, as well as bearing great post-harvest and shipping qualities.