Erfurt (dpa/th) - According to the State Statistical Office, Thuringia's fruit-growing companies are expecting an above-average harvest of sweet cherries this year. As the statisticians announced on Monday in Erfurt, a yield of 8.4 tons per hectare is expected. With a cultivation area of 276 hectares, a harvest of around 2300 tons is expected.
The yield would thus be more than two thirds (68 percent) higher than last year, when 5 tons per hectare were harvested. According to this first estimate, the long-term average for the years 2016 to 2021 of 6.3 tons per hectare will be exceeded by more than a third (34 percent).
According to the information, a yield of 10.1 tons per hectare is expected for the sour cherries. With 177 hectares of cultivation area, a harvest of around 1800 tons should come together. Expected yields are slightly lower than last year, when 11.7 tons per hectare were harvested. According to this estimate, however, the long-term average for the years 2016 to 2021 of 9.4 tons per hectare will be exceeded by 8 percent.
