The meeting, held at the Gran Arena Monticello in San Francisco de Mostazal, Chile, brought together leading experts on relevant and current topics related to cherry production.
As was the case last year, the format chosen to present the topics consisted of three master classes, each accompanied by a discussion and debate forum, which was very well received by the attendees. Previously, Claudia Soler, Executive Director of the Chilean Fruit Cherry Committee, opened the day with her presentation, “A New Strategy for the Chilean Cherry Industry.”
In her presentation, the professional analyzed the factors that influenced the previous 2024-25 export season and provided details of how they expect to face the new 2025-2026 campaign, highlighting that, while “we prepared in advance to face the anticipated higher volumes, as well as carrying out cold treatment, coordinating with the different actors in the chain, there were other factors that presented challenges last season.”
He also emphasized the strategic priorities and collaborative work being carried out at the union level with the National Agricultural Society (SNA) and Fedefruta, defining a roadmap focused on raising standards and ensuring a superior consumer experience.
Following Claudia Soler’s presentation, Carlos Tapia, a specialist in cherry production and technical director of Avium, opened the presentations. He presented the masterclass “Cherries from Chile. Are we ready for the second half of the match?”
Throughout his master class, the co-founder of Smartcherry emphasized that well-executed pruning has a direct and very significant impact on the final caliber of the cherries, and that it is one of the tasks with the greatest agronomic and economic impact, especially in a scenario of tight profitability, since it reduces the number of fruit centers and excessive shoots, which decreases internal competition for nutrients, and allows fewer fruits per plant to receive more resources, favoring a larger fruit size (caliber).
Throughout his master class, the co-founder of Smartcherry emphasized that well-executed pruning has a direct and very significant impact on the final caliber of the cherries, and that it is one of the tasks with the greatest agronomic and economic impact, especially in a scenario of tight profitability, since it reduces the number of fruit centers and excessive shoots, which decreases internal competition for nutrients, and allows fewer fruits per plant to receive more resources, favoring a larger fruit size (caliber).
The other two master classes were led by Karen Sagredo, an agricultural engineer and professor at the University of Chile, entitled “Sustained Production Potential: The Science Behind Bud Quality.” The lecture was led by Javier de Pablo Camarasa, a specialist in cherry production under plastic wrap, entitled “Mistakes are expensive: Analysis of forced production in early areas.”
“As I mentioned in the talk, the bud has a history that spans more than one season, and we have to be concerned about that history because the future cherry is contained in small parts inside the bud. So, without a doubt, the bud itself contains that precious product that we so desire,” said fruit-growing specialist Karen Sagredo.
In addition, the 2025 CherryTech event featured three forums, spaces for relaxed conversation with leading experts. The first was called “Santina – Between Tradition and Varietal Innovation. The Time for Critical Analysis.” The second addressed the importance of calcium. We discussed the forum “Calcium – Technical Use and Silent Impact on Production Potential.” The third focused on “Digital Agriculture in Cherry Cultivation: Advances and Impact on the Production Chain.”
For Walter Masman, a participant in Forum 1, “it’s an honor to be invited back to this event, which is a celebration for those of us dedicated to this challenging industry. This season has been a time of great exposure. However, Chile is admired worldwide because we have sustained a very successful industry so far, where production has a completely different quality than in any other country in the world. This season affected us for everything that’s been said, for a product that implies even higher quality, so all the topics that have been discussed undoubtedly call us to contribute to that.”
Also, and as in the 2024 version, the award for the scientific poster of the year was presented to the Center for Advanced Studies in Fruit Growing (CEAF), which presented the research entitled: “Response of cherry rootstocks to inoculations with Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae during the winter break and its effect on vegetative growth in the season.”
For the companies present at this meeting, it was also an important opportunity to connect and share experiences. “CherryTech is an important opportunity to meet with potential clients; it’s a chance to share, to brainstorm ideas. It’s helped me a lot to come up with a new idea and to focus less on my company, but rather to open up a little more. So I’d like to thank everyone behind this,” said Sebastián Johnson, General Manager of Proyectos Industriales Johnson.
“We are very happy with the number of people we expected and that finally arrived. We saw that the audience enjoyed the master classes and forums, and it provided the networking opportunity we had hoped for. We are delighted with the 2025 edition,” commented Jorge Tello, co-founder of Smartcherry and CherryTech.
At the end of this new edition, the event organizers confirmed a fourth version for 2026.
“We are truly proud of the success of CherryTech 2025, thanks to the tremendous turnout we had, both from attendees and from the companies that participated in this third edition, as well as the 1,600 people who came to the Gran Arena Monticello to participate in an unprecedented event. This drives and motivates us to continue working to make this event a space where we can bring together more people who want to learn about the challenges of the cherry industry. Therefore, we are already planning the 2026 edition,” said Marie Bach, General Manager of Yentzen Group and co-founder of CherryTech.
To review a video summary of this event, please CLICK HERE.