After last year's success, a Chinese edition of the Interpoma is again being organised. It will be held on Thursday, 28, and Friday, 29 June. The Interpoma's Italian organisers have copied the initiative in China. In this way, the two countries apple growing regions can be connected. A platform for knowledge sharing has also been created. This is according to the NFO.
In Shandong, China, 9,3 million tonnes of apples are cultivated annually. This is done on an area of 304 666 ha. South Tirol is a much smaller region. Yearly, they produce 1 million tonnes of apples on an area of 19 000 ha. They are, however, ahead when it comes to cultivation techniques and mechanisation. Of the orchards in Shandong, 90% have no protection against birds, frost or hail. There are no fertigation possibilities in more than 80% of these trees. There is also limited mechanisation. This results in 65% of the production costs being spent on labour.
Last year, there were 70 companies from ten different countries at the trade show. It drew 2 000 visitors. This year, just like the Italian version, excursions will be organised to various businesses in the area. There will also be an Interpoma congress with international speakers. This year's prominent themes are drift-reduced spraying methods; fertigation based on soil and leaf analysis; chemical thinning and growth regulation for the Fuji; ripeness tests, harvesting windows, and storage systems; switching to a system where the fruit is not placed in bags; and cut-tree production in the nursery.
The trade fair and congress will be held in the Weihai exhibition centre in the province of Shandong. Find more information on fierabolzano.it.
Source: NFO