Belgian cherries will be considerably later due to cold and dark weather

Tholen - At the beginning of April it was all hands on deck for the Dutch and Belgian cherry growers. The night frost caused sleepless nights to protect the early cherry varieties, including braziers, against frost damage. Yet it is not that frost that seems to hinder local cherry cultivation the most, but the persistent cold, dark weather appears to be the major obstacle. "The consequences of the frost are still relatively minor. I don't immediately see that as a problem, but the persistent low temperatures cause quite a delay," says Diether Everaerts of BFV. The result is that the Belgian cherry season seems to start about 10 to 14 days later compared to previous years. "Normally, the buds bloom in mid-April, but now it's much too cold to continue flowering. That's a pity," Diether continues. "The pollination of the early varieties that have already opened is not good compared to last season, because we have a poor northeasterly wind. This causes little activity among the bees, ...