Cherry growers in Marlborough are keeping their fingers crossed that heavy rain forecast today does not result in any major damage to their crops.
The picking season is well underway and any rain, particularly warm rain, can cause the cherries to split, rendering them unsaleable.
Photo: AFP
One of the biggest Marlborough growers is Cherryland and its owner Paul Kinzett said it started exporting to South Korea last Monday, and it was now looking to the local market.
He said a burst of heavy rain right now would certainly set them back, although the weather has been kind to growers until now.
"It doesn't look so good though, so we're going for it at the moment. Just have to keep a close eye on it and get everything as dry as soon as we can after the event. It depends on the sort of rain that we get, if it's a warm rain it can be more damaging than cool conditions.