Imara, a new raspberry variety with maximum earliness and 2 kg per plant

In early September, we witnessed the collection of Onubafruit’s earliest raspberry variety, the Imara, when we visited the Las Palmeritas farm in Lepe (Huelva), with one of the partners of Cooperativa La Bella. 

We had the opportunity to check Imara’s high productivity and quality with Pilar Lidueña, quality manager of the cooperative, when we visited the hectare of raspberry crops that farmer Gaspar Fernandez has been harvesting since mid-August. According to Fernandez, this fruit sets itself apart because of its attractive presence, in terms of uniformity, intense colour, calibre, high hardness for handling and high productivity, as it can produce "about 2 kg per plant and it can have a new production in April." Additionally, Gaspar said, it is resistant and requires few treatments. 

However, what really sets this new variety apart is its, said Pilar Lidueña, "it greatly outweighs the traditional varieties, especially the Vajolet and Lagorie."

There are many producers in Cobella who, encouraged by the expectations of the new materials and trying to avoid the disastrous results of the previous strawberry campaign, have chosen to expand their raspberry production. In this regard, the company has tripled its bet on raspberries, starting with the Imara variety from mid-August to October, continuing with the Kweli variety until December, and then following with the Vajolet and Lagorie varieties until July, which complement the traditional Lyon and Glen Lyon varieties. 

The Kweli, is another variety on the rise that stands out because of its long postharvest life, while the Lagorie and Vajolet varieties large sizes makes things easier for the farmers. 

Thanks to the addition of these varieties, Onubafruit’s raspberry production per year will amount to 10,000 tons of high quality raspberry, which will allow the company to continue responding to the current demand and strengthen its presence in the European market.