Okanagan cherry growers, already reeling from an unseasonably cold winter, are now taking to the air to save ripening fruit from recent damaging rains.
With just weeks before harvest, some orchards are hiring helicopters to blow away moisture from the sugar-swollen fruit. Pooling rain can cause fruit to swell, breaking or splitting the delicate skin and potentially spoiling the cherry,
“Hiring helicopters is not something we undertake lightly,” said Sukhpaul Bal, cherry grower and president of the B.C. Cherry Association.
“They are very expensive, and if there were another way to save our crop, we would.”
Bal says helicopters can dry an acre of cherries in about five minutes. However, they cost growers between $1,000 and $1,600 per
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