CHERRY HARVEST TIME
There are twenty-three cherry varieties grown in our country.
vista cherry, early burlat, edirne cherry, earlydawn cherry, starking hardy gaint, durona di cesena, merton premier, larian, merton bigarreau, berryrssa, noir de guben, stella, van, bing, bigarreau napoleon, noble, bigarreau gaucher, pistoia, karabodur, karagevrek, 0900 field cherry, lambert, merton kate.

Due to the geographical structure of our country, it can be harvested from the beginning of May to the end of August on the basis of varieties.
 
In terms of fruit characteristics, cherry can be harvested neither early nor late. When harvested early, light colored, less sweet and small fruit is obtained. If it is late, the durability of the cherry decreases, the fruit softens, darkens and easily separates from the fruit stalk. Therefore, it should be harvested just in time. If the maintenance conditions are good, very significant amounts of size and weight gain are achieved within 8-10 days before harvest.
 
There is no marketing problem in our regions where cherries are grown intensively. Cherries to be exported have to go through some processes. Pre-cooling is the most important of these processes, and without this process, competitive and real value exports are impossible. Pre-cooling at 0 degrees is required immediately after the harvest. In pre-cooling, cherries are cooled below 4 degrees in a short time (8 minutes). Thus, spoilage is prevented, durability is increased and the greenness of the fruit stem is preserved.
Then the cherries are selected, sorted and packaged according to market demands without ever leaving the cold chain.
 
Cherries to be exported must have some features:
The product should be large, high quality and homogeneous.
Fruits should be in color and taste specific to the variety.
Harvested fruits should be pre-cooled without waiting.
(For 0900 Ziraat variety) fruit width should be more than 22 mm.
The fruits should be dust-free, dirt-free, dented, unscathed and stalked.
There should be no pesticide residues harmful to human health in the fruit.
The selection should be made very well, the packaging should be made with good materials.
Cherries must be absolutely worm-free.