Western Australia

The main cherry growing regions in WA are located in a narrow growing belt stretching from Donnybrook to Pemberton in the south west of the state. This region involves some larger growers in the Donnybrook/Kirup and Manjimup/Pemberton areas and smaller ones through the Balingup and Bridgetown shires. This belt produces approximately 85% of WA cherries. Other smaller areas are located between the Mt Barker and Albany region with a few growers in the Dwellingup area and Perth Hills.

Production Characteristics

The main production season is mid December to late January, with some early varieties starting in early November and can last until February with later varieties.

Production Systems

Free standing open vase is the main production system used, with some newer plantings using the open Tatura.

Bing, Stella, Lapin, Sweetheart and Van are the main varieties grown. Other ‘older’ varieties grown include Merchant, Supreme and Empress.

A large number of other varieties have been introduced recently. The best performing of these are Ferprime, Simone, early Sweet, Royal Rainier, Sweet Georgia, Kordia, Stella, Chelan, Earlise and Australise. There have been a lot of new and untried varieties planted across the growing regions. These include Sandra Rose, Sweet Early, Red Crystal, Celeste, Samba, Index and Symphony.

 

Cherry Production

• No of enterprises: 70
• Number of hectares (estimate): 70
• Production (tonnes): 500