A portion of this year's cherry harvest has already been picked at the Estonian University of Life Sciences' (Maaülikool) Polli horticultural research center of in Viljandi County.

"This year presents a mixed picture — in some places it's encouraging, in others disappointing. The harvest is above average, but the weather plays a major role, and there's a risk we could still lose part of the crop," said chief fruit-growing specialist Kersti Kahu.

Even when cherry trees produce a good harvest, one persistent problem remains — the fruit tends not to remain fully intact.

"Sweet cherries contain quite a lot of sugar, and once they reach a certain stage of ripeness, rain simply causes damage and the fruit splits," Kahu explained.

In the same way high rainfall can lead to a poor grapevine harvest in more southerly climes, this summer's constant showers have also made the cherries too watery, inhibiting the taste.

"The characteristic flavor of the variety doesn't come through. This year's fruit is a bit watery, lacking both sweetness and that distinctive spicy note," Kahu noted.

The Polli collection includes more than 50 varieties of sweet and sour cherries, and the total number, including breeding lines and seedlings, is several times larger than that. Many have struggled in this year's weather, even as the locally bred Polli varieties have proved more resilient.

"[Varieties] Arthur and Piret are performing very well, and we've already finished harvesting Taki. Mupi and Kaspar have also done well, with very little fruit splitting so far," Kahu said.

Priit Pramann, the center's director, said the state supports plant breeding and the preservation of genetic resources, but increasingly frequent adverse weather conditions require investment in covered growing areas.

"We simply don't have the resources for that. Latvia and Lithuania can already do it – they build small protective shelters over the trees, while we can't. That would allow us to compare whether the damage was weather-related. It would also protect the trees from sudden hailstorms, which caused extensive damage this year," Pramann said.

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