The following article was written by the Chilenut Team.
Chile has been plagued by a drought –some years more intensely than others– for the past ten years. Rainfall levels in the Metropolitan Region, which concentrates the greatest number of walnut orchards at just below 40% of the national total, have dropped down to as low 81[1] mm a year, such as in 2019, when annual averages (1961-1990) should be 313 mm, in other words, we’re down to one quarter of our regular numbers.
The Chilean industry’s response has been twofold: on one hand, there has been a significant improvement in hydro efficiency –more than 95%[2] of new orchards have technical irrigation that uses drip or micro-nozzle technology– and on the other, growth is concentrated in new production areas.
Chile has consolidated its position as the number two exporter in the world and the number one grower-exporter in the Southern Hemisphere. Over the past few years, much of this growth has been concentrated in the south of the country, an area that starts in the Region of O’Higgins (100 km south of the capital city of Santiago) and ends in the Araucanía Region (670 km south of the capital). This land poses significant production challenges and limitations when it comes to walnut tree development, but at the same time, it has allowed the country to adapt to climate change, which greatly affects the central part of Chile.
Today, this production zone, which includes the Regions of O’Higgins, Maule, Ñuble and Bio-Bio, concentrates 40% of all national walnut orchards, adding up to 17,000 hectares, even surpassing the Metropolitan Region, where walnut production has traditionally been developed in Chile.
This growth down south and the area’s particular production traits have yielded significant technical developments and led to an ongoing search for technological solutions linked to innovation and a constant updating of production management and commercial guidelines, where business is tighter and threats from external factors like climate change limit production, as evidenced by the severe drought that has affected the center and north of the country, slowing down production of a number of different crops, including walnuts.
Land prices, water availability and access to labor are some of the main factors that have driven the growth of walnut trees into the south, an area where walnuts were traditionally not produced due to adverse weather conditions. This has resulted in the development of different technologies and innovations to overcome these limitations. For this very reason, the industry is currently researching and validating the development of orchards managed through high densities, allowing for an early entry into production, with high yields, better quality fruit and low labor costs due to the small size of the trees, which translates to a quick ROI. In addition, these intensive systems permit an early renewal of orchards because the productive life of trees is shortened, paving the way for new developments, such as other cultivars, clones, mutants, rootstocks or planting systems. One particularly important aspect –of which there was no past record– is associated to the quality obtained down south, which has been pleasantly surprising over the past few seasons, including sizes and colors above the national average, a testament to the technical work behind the scenes and to the growth in volume that this zone will inject into the market in upcoming years. Another important aspect has been all of the work done to control pests and diseases, as these orchards require untraditional management techniques and ongoing monitoring because the area’s weather conditions are ideal for the development of these problems during certain seasons.
References:
1.https://climatologia.meteochile.gob.cl/application/anual/aguaCaidaAnual/330020/2019
2. https://www.ciren.cl/proyectos/catastrosfruticolas/