The climate of the temperate valleys of Jujuy is quite unique. The summers are rainy and the winters are short, dry and cold. With an excellent location and incomparable beauty, lagoons, rivers and green plains make the region an ideal area for agriculture, oriented to the production of tobacco, beans and fruit trees. In fact, this is where the first peaches to hit the country's largest markets come from. The INTA has now presented the first nectarine variety evaluated in the region and registered at the National Seed Institute (INASE). It is the Don Basilio, which is characterised by the average size of the fruits, a very good flavour and a remarkable agronomic behaviour.
"We know the potential we have in the region for the production of fresh fruit," stated Viviana Curzel, fruit specialist at INTA Perico, in Jujuy. "Our goal is to be the country's leading centre for the production of fruit trees that require fewer hours of cold, with both extra early and early harvesting periods," she highlighted.
The INTA unit has a collection of fruit trees in continuous evaluation consisting of more than 20 varieties of peaches and 12 of nectarines. Moreover, they also have apricots, plums, figs, table grapes and apples under evaluation. "We are working with EMBRAPA (Brazil) and with INIA (Uruguay) for the transfer of materials for this year," she pointed out. "These agreements will allow the introduction and evaluation of new materials," she explained.
According to Curzel, "fruit growing is an excellent alternative activity for the region which has shown a sustained growth over the last few years, since it is a perfect complement to the typical agricultural crops of the area."
In this sense, the INTA seeks to expand the diversity of species and varieties available. "This search responds to a demand and interest from the producer that never declines," she stressed. "This is achieved thanks to the introduction and continuous evaluation of materials, which make it possible to select crops with improved characteristics and adapted to the agroecological characteristics of the area," she added.
The Don Basilio is the first nectarine variety introduced and evaluated in this area. It is a crop selected from materials belonging to the INTA San Pedro-Buenos Aires collections, developed in the Improvement Program of the University of Florida, United States. "With this fruit, we seek to expand the availability of improved cultivars with unique characteristics and different harvest windows, and which thus aim to ensure the sustainability of the fruit producer," explained the INTA specialist.
"After years of work, the most suitable management practices for each cultivar, such as pruning and thinning, are defined. The idea is to obtain fruits of good size and quality," she pointed out, highlighting the predisposition and constant support of Gabriel Valentini, a fruit tree breeding specialist at INTA San Pedro-Buenos Aires, as together with this unit they coordinate and agree on the exchange of promising materials.
As explained by Curzel, one of the most noteworthy characteristics of the Don Basilio "is the earliness of its flowering and harvest, because in the upper parts of the valley, both stages start about 10 days later."
Regarding the fruit, she explained that "it is a yellow-fleshed nectarine, of average firmness, with the stone clinging to the pulp, a good flavour and aroma and a high sugar content."
Furthermore, it has a yellow skin with some red covering almost the entire fruit, a medium size (150 grams) and the plant in full production and with good management can produce between 25 and 30 kilos.
In general, the early fruits take just 60-70 days after the flowering to be ready for the harvest. They grow quickly compared to mid-season or late fruits. They have high water content and their post-harvest shelf life is shorter compared to later varieties.
"Although we don't have anything to compare with the Don Basilio, because they are the first nectarines in the area, we have obtained a fruit of very good quality, with excellent taste, juiciness, strength to endure transportation and a good post-harvest shelf life," outlined Curzel.
Source: infocampo.com.ar
