In this edition of the Newsletter, we invite you on a quick virtual tour of the ARRA Varieties in Colombia, India and Chile.
Top Fruits Colombia, located in Valle del Cauca, just finished packing their first production of ARRA Sweeties™. The development of ARRA Sweeties so far has been good. The fertility is high and the team is happy with the number of bunches obtained. Due to the positive results, the expectations are high and the team hope to carry on even further with the ARRA project in Colombia.
Valle del Cauca is on the western side of the country, abutting the Pacific Ocean. The existing conditions allow the cultivation of fruit in several regions of the country where a dry climate with strong winds and soils with a high content of organic components predominate.
Karl Conrads, Grapasa CEO and ARRA Agent in South America says: “We believe that ARRA Honey Pop is a very good choice for the growers due to its early harvest time. Chilean growers are greatly affected by the drought, so the ability to achieve very good quality grapes, using 50% less water compared to late varieties is a considerable advantage”. Karl concludes: “In addition, this variety offers the growers the option to start their season earlier and therefore able to compete with late varieties from earlier areas, such as those from northern Chile or Peru”.
Last week Sahyadri Farms held a field day for all the ARRA producers. Events like these provide the growers with even more tools, knowledge and support to continue to improve the production quality.
Mr. Sachin Walunj, Sahyadri’s General Manager and Farm Operation and the technical team visit the different farms on a regular basis to support the growers in their first and second year of production. The goal is to continue to improve the efficiency in the management of their canopies, bunches and fertilizer applications. The support given is vital especially when a variety is first introduced to the growers.
The commitment and efforts shown by the Indian producers by following the growing protocols show excellent results.
Sahyadri Farms, with the support of Grapa and Jupiter Group, the exclusive license holder for the ARRA Varieties in India, continues to provide growing, storage and export protocols. and when adhered to, the results truly show as we can see in the pictures below.
Thank you to the Jupiter Group and Sahyadri Farms’ teams and all the growers for the commitment, efforts and dedication to the ARRA Program and for another successful season and we are confident there will be to many more to come.
This season, an excellent example of ARRA Sweeties can be seen in Agricola Casarino Ltda., where the harvest has been successful. La Florida farm, where ARRA Sweeties are planted, is located in San Felipe Valley, Region V.
Mairene Casarino General Manager at Agricola Casarino says about the variety: “ARRA Sweeties™ is an excellent variety with great vigor and fertility, which makes it possible to achieve a very good bunch size and yields per hectare”.
Agricola Casarino planted the first plot of ARRA Sweeties in 2018 along with ARRA Passion Fire™ and ARRA Mystic Dream™.
ARRA Sweeties from Chile, produced by Agricola Pabellon and exported by Del Monte, leaders in the industry, were happy with the feedback received after exporting it to the USA market. The fruit arrived in excellent condition with fresh rachis and no shattering.
“I am really happy with this season ARRA Passion Fire™. This is my second year of commercial production and ARRA Passion Fire is easy to manage, the harvest was good and the fruit was excellent quality” says María Angélica Toledo, producer of EXSER. For us there is nothing more satisfying than a happy grower.
Jorge Manuel Jofre Oyanadel Palo Blanco farm Manager, says about this season ARRA Sweeties: “This variety is characterized by a faster ripening process and has a good caliber of 22 mm, moreover, it reacts well to the warm climate of this area. It is fertile, easy to manage and has high productivity. Upon arrival, the market feedback was good, leaving us very happy with this variety!”.
The quality of the ARRA Varieties produced by the Chilenian growers this season is outstanding. Despite the challenging weather conditions, bringing frost and drought in certain areas of the country, we are proud that the ARRA™ Varieties showed their great adaptability to harsh climate changes.
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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.