US cherry growers have been urged to invest in rain cover technology to combat the wet weather damage to this year's Washington State harvest.
Wet conditions in May and unseasonal rain in June have had a negative impact on the US state's substantial cherry operation, resulting in widespread splitting.
UK based grower and retail supplier J.O. Sims has been trialling Voen rain covers on its Washington-based cherry crops and recommends other growers to do the same.
'The cherries we have grown under cover is of excellent quality and we plan to make further substantial investments in the future,' said Steve Pauly, J.O. Sims' US logistics manager.
Comprising of overlapping strips of plastic film sewn to a base fabric, with vents between the strips to allow good air flow, the Voen cover system has boosted the firm's cherry volumes despite the region's poor weather.
Pauly added: 'We are the first to use Voen covers on cherries in Washington State and they provide a double economy because as well as protecting the fruit, the knock on effect is to reduce sorting costs, because there are fewer damaged cherries in the harvest.'
Around 10 per cent of all Washington State cherry imports end up in the UK.
