The Cordoba-based company Ispaproyext, with headquarters in the Technological Science Park of Cordoba, has been involved in the development of a project to adapt the cultivation of kakis (diospyros kaki), grown in superintensive regimes, to the climate and soil characteristics of Cordoba. The first intensive plantation of this subtropical fruit, located in a farm near El Higuerón (a peripheral suburb of the capital), has 960 kaki trees per hectare and a total of ten hectares. Ispaproyext has been working to adapt the crop's physiological demands to Cordoba's conditions, taking care of aspects such as irrigation, fertilising schedules, the handling of the soil and, above all, the pruning.
This crop started to be planted intensively in areas such as Valencia and Huelva, where temperatures are milder. Ispaproyext's project started with a study of the crop's edaphoclimatic demands for a correct adaptation of the same to Cordoba's climate. The objective of this project is to advance the harvest in Cordoba and make it possible to hit the market before other national productions, preferably in mid-September; one month earlier than in other coastal areas. In its first intensive kaki plantation in Cordoba, Ispaproyext has succeeded in getting the trees to become productive (about 6,000 kilos of kakis per hectare) after two and a half years, in part thanks to the technical support provided to the growers.
Kakis are highly demanded for export. A large share of the production is shipped to countries such as France or Turkey. "It is a product which, compared to others, such as plums, has a very long shelf life, which helps make it profitable," states Juan Ignacio Pacheco, CEO of the company. Because of all this, Ispaproyext believes that kakis have a very good chance to become an alternative for producers in the province of Cordoba.
This project kicked off two years ago, and after all this time, many parameters have already been analysed to ensure the crop's correct adaptation. Moreover, Ispaproyext has recently started research on the physiological development of the plant, to compare it with that observed in other areas with milder climates. The company is also working with other types of subtropical varieties, such as avocados and mangoes, but in this case in coastal areas of Malaga.
Kakis are one of the crops recording the most growth in recent years in Spain. Today, more than 6,000 growers produce this fruit, which is believed to have an astounding potential to generate revenue, given the figures recorded so far. A total of close to 17,000 hectares is devoted to the cultivation of kakis in Spain, almost 90% of which are in the Region of Valencia, where the cultivation of kakis started to take off late in the 90's. In Spain as a whole, the kaki production amounted to about 240,000 tonnes in 2015. Last year, this production grew by around 25%, reaching 360,000 tonnes, and by 2020 the sector expects this figure to increase to 650,000 tonnes.
These good figures are partly the result of an increase in demand for this subtropical fruit; a result of national and international promotional campaigns in which producers have invested approximately 17 million Euro in recent years. In Andalusia, kakis are expanding in Granada, Huelva and Malaga. It remains to be seen whether the crop will also be successful in Cordoba.
Source: eldiadecordoba.es
