This episode of our Spotlight series presents Dr. José Quero Garcia, Researcher at INRAE in Bordeaux, France, and partner in the CrackSense project. He shares insights on the complex factors behind fruit cracking in sweet cherries, including environmental, agronomic, and varietal influences, while also outlining key mitigation strategies. Read on to discover which approaches can help growers protect their crops and improve fruit quality.
Exploring Causes and Practical Approaches to Reduce Cracking
Could you please introduce yourself and provide some background on your research and your organisation?
I am Dr José Quero Garcia. I originally come from Spain, but I work in France, in Bordeaux. I am a scientist and a sweet cherry breeder. At INRAE Bordeaux, we work on many other species, especially forest species and grapevine, which is typical for the Bordeaux wine region. We also carry out research on fruit trees, in particular on sweet cherries, which is my main area of study.
Could you tell us more about your role in the CrackSense and the ongoing research related to sweet cherries?
I am the contact person at INRAE, helping with all the administrative issues for my colleagues working on sweet cherries, as well as for those working on citrus in Corsica. More specifically, in the scientific organisation of the project, I am the leader of Work Package 5, which deals with pilots and all the trials conducted after what has been done in the first work packages in the experimental plots. We try to implement these technologies in pilots that are closer to the conditions faced by growers. In this way, we aim to see whether prediction models for cracking can be applied in real production conditions.
What are the key factors that contribute to fruit cracking in sweet cherries?
Fruit cracking in sweet cherries is very complex. It depends mostly on environmental conditions, but also on agronomical factors, and in particular the variety is very important. I think that the first mitigation strategy would be to choose, as far as possible, cultivars that are not too sensitive, especially in areas where it may rain during the harvest period. If this is not easy, growers generally choose to protect orchards with covers, such as rain covers.
It is also possible to select varieties based on their maturity period. If you know that rains mostly occur at the end of May, you may choose varieties that ripen a bit later, as a kind of escape mechanism. There are also some treatments that can be applied using salts with calcium to reinforce the fruit against cracking. However, I think this is not entirely effective, although it can help to reduce cracking slightly. These are the four main strategies in sweet cherry.
Conclusion
Addressing fruit cracking in sweet cherries relies on combining several approaches, from selecting less sensitive cultivars and adjusting harvest timing to using protective measures and supportive treatments. While no single solution can fully prevent cracking, applying these strategies together can help growers better manage the risk under different conditions.
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