Helicopter season starting in effort to save Okanagan cherry crop

With early season cherries ripening and much needed rain falling that means helicopters are taking to the air.

“Cherries that are nearly ripe have a high natural sugar content, and this draws in rainwater sitting on the fruit, causing it to swell until it breaks open or splits,” says a news release from the BC Cherry Association.

“Industry representatives say the only practical way to remove rainwater from cherries is to blow it off. The powerful downdraft from helicopter rotors is highly effective in removing rainwater pooling in the stem ‘bowl’ of cherries.”

Helicopters are expensive – $1,000 to $1,600 per hour – but very effective. They can dry an acre of cherries in five minutes, compared to 40-50 minutes for blowers attached to tractors.

They’re also very loud.

“Growers understand that helicopter noise can be annoying to nearby residents, and they use helicopters only as a last resort,” Adrian Arts, Southern Interior Team Lead at the BC Ministry of Agriculture and Food, said in the release. “Orchardists use other means to prevent splitting first, such as the planting of split-resistant cherry varieties, or new varieties that ripen later in the summer when it’s usually dryer.”

Over the past three days, more than four millimetres of rain fell in the Vernon area, with lesser amounts further south in the Okanagan with none recorded in Osoyoos.

There’s a 30% chance of showers Friday and 60% on Saturday so more helicopter time may be needed.

“Last year, despite our worries about the annoyance factor presented by the choppers, 99% of people were very supportive of the need to rescue our crops,” Sukhpaul Bal, president of the BC Cherry Association, said in the release. “Comments in social media and in person were mostly positive. We want to thank our neighbours for their overwhelming patience and understanding.”

The BC cherry industry generates about $180 million annually for growers, pickers, sorters, packing plants, marketers, distributors and suppliers, the association said.

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