Two days of heavy rains over South Africa’s Western Cape province have put a dampener on the peak harvesting period for table grapes in the region.
A large percentage of grapes still to be harvested are seedless grapes, which can be susceptible to cracking as a result of rain. Producers have ceased harvesting for three days to allow the grapes to dry off, but as FPJ went to press, the region was expecting another cold front with rain, which could cause further delays.
Andre van Wyk, technical manager for South African Table Grape Industry, confirmed that the Western Cape grape production regions had received approximately 15-45mm from February 9-11. “As we are in the middle of our harvest season, growers have taken a number of precautions in order to limit the impact of the rain on product quality,” he said. “These measures include increased vineyard sanitation, and the correct treatment of vines against possible powdery mildew and botrytis outbreaks.
“Growers have also stopped the harvesting process for two to three days, depending on the sensitivity of certain varieties. We are also making an effort to ship grapes in a shorter timeframe, in order to minimise progressive quality deterioration,” he explained.
Leon Van Biljon, business manager for deciduous fruit at Dole South Africa, said: “Some of the fruit that is already in the market from earlier production regions is already showing condition problems.
“As a result of the fluctuating weather conditions during the past three months, we have seen that white seedless grapes do not have the storage capacity that they would in a normal year. Retailers need to recognise this and not store this fruit. Fortunately, this is the first rain that we have received on grapes in the Western Cape, and if producers follow the necessary sanitation procedures, this should not cause too many problems.”
Van Biljon added that the rain is not likely to affect projected volumes for harvest, which should come in very close to initial estimates.
