It's time to transplant melons in Mantua, land particularly suited to this crop. At the Az. Agr. Adriano Francesco Pretto, the grafting of seedlings that will be transplanted in the greenhouse and tunnel is in full swing.Many expert-hands graft thousands of melon seedlings to the relative rootstocks (melon varieties), and then deposit them into the "incubators" at controlled temperature and humidity, so that the grafts take root.
Transplants are performed, manually in the tunnel to avoid compaction of the soil, with the use of machines in the field starting from the end of March until June, and then in the second production in June and July in the greenhouse, with a careful scalability that allows a continuous harvest for the supply of melons to the market without interruption, until September/October.
Hands grafting melons.
The Adriano Pretto company is located where his father once owned a small plot, but today it extends over 150 hectares of land (of which 28 are covered with greenhouses), and another 300 acres for rent. The production consists largely of Italian netted melon (80%) and smooth melon (20%), while only 10 hectares are used to grow Crimson watermelons. The yield per hectare is approximately around 30 MT per hectare, but subject to large fluctuations from year to year.
Aerial view of Pretto's firm.
Together with his wife, Antonella and two children Andrea and Monica, who are the owners of an agricultural company related to ‘La Futura’, Adriano Pretto leads the family business that hires up to 50 workers during peak season.
Mr. Adriano Pretto.
Adriano explains, "We are equipped with a packaging factory which covers an area of 4,500 sqm, with a line designed for melons and one for watermelons. We also have four insulated refrigerated trucks for transportation of goods in the best conditions to all the main wholesale markets in Northern Italy."
One of the firm's refrigerated trucks.
Melons of Adriano Pretto, also known as "melons of young lady" – a marketing choice of the company depicting a girl in the field - are present in 11 market structures: Verona, Milan, Treviso, Padua, Genoa , Turin, Bergamo, Florence, Cesena, Rimini and Bologna. The product also travels abroad through various wholesalers.
Pretto's melons with their own brand.
"My label is well known, as it identifies a product grown with attention to every detail and therefore it's appreciated by the most demanding customers who recognize its excellent taste." Says Adriano, adding: "I have not had any problem selling because I have always put the quality first. Suffice to say that the average sugar content of our fruits range from 14 to 16 degrees of Brix."
The Adriano Pretto’s melon was also honored with awards for distinguished tasting in competitions, at an annual event dedicated to this product, held until 2005. Over the past two years, the company Pretto was awarded the first prize "Golden Melon".
The son of Adriano, Andrea, showing one of the prize 'Golden Melon' won by the firm.
The choice of melon varieties, most suitable for growing in soils of the area. The soil in this area is clay, tenacious and difficult to work with, but rich in micro-elements, is one of the qualifying business activities. Adrian explains: "I rely on very specific cultivars for early transplants and for those medium-late. Given our particular soil and climate, a melon still has to be evaluated in the field for at least three years before being inserted in the portfolio."
"The melon is very sensitive to excess moisture and to hot temperature. For transplants in May, June and July for example, I opted for the Nunhems variety Bliz F1, netted melon an extraordinary plant which is also very vigorous and resistant to powdery mildew and high temperature and especially suitable for fruit size always in line with the demands of the market and perfect in transplants of a second harvest."
During the harvest.
In recent years, the melon market is moving more and more to small and medium sizes. "Buyers do not want melons over 2 kg - explains Adriano - but prefer the size from 1.2 to 1.5 kg (or even less in some cases, such as in the Swiss market.) This stems from a number of factors such as the reduction in the average size of households and less money to spend."
Among the challenges for the future of the company, Adriano identifies profitability: "To make a quality product, the cost per kg are not inferior to €0.40 cents in the open field and from 0.60 to 0.65 under green house. It is obvious that we can not go under these levels. My concern now is that our work - and especially that of my children in the future - is not remunerated. Due to the economic crisis, today the problem is payments, there are cash-strapped companies that are closing and some leave behind even millions of euro of debt is not honored."
Contacts:
Az. agr. Pretto Adriano Francesco
Via Guidalina 19
Gavello di Mirandola (MO) - Italy
Phone & fax: +39 (0)535 31307
Mob.: +39 335 6208124
Email: [email protected]