State farmers and farmers of the cooperative and peasant branch of Ciego de Avila will expand the harvest and export of pineapples, in order to increase its marketing to the tourist sector and to supply European nations.
The rains of Hurricane Irma and the rains that started in the second half of April still continue to affect the pineapple crop, but producers and technicians strive to increase their volumes and strengthen the national economy.
This territory already has more than 1,500 hectares planted with the MD-2 and Spanish Red varieties, and it's committed to plant another 500 hectares before the end of 2018, stated engineer Wilver Bringas Fernandez, the general director of the Agroindustrial Ceballos company.
Engineer Reinaldo Avila Guerra, who is in charge of that and other fruit programs, said they had the resources and corresponding workforce to make this happen, and that they would place a greater emphasis on the MD-2 variety, as it was the most desired in Europe, especially in Spain, Italy, and France, and by the industry.
Producers are interested in that species because it would allow them to triple yields and produce more than 60 tons per hectare in reddish lands that have abundant water in the subsoil.
This variety was first planted in the south of Ciego de Avila in 2012, when producer brought hybrids from Costa Rica. Currently, there are already more than one hundred hectares sown with it, with specific technology and sustained growth.
Producers were able to increase their production by changing their planting system, introducing modern equipment, and managing better the dosage of fertilizers and biological means used against pests and diseases, stated Avila Guerra.
The MD-2 pineapple is an excellent and large fruit that is characterized by its low acidity, while the Red Spanish pineapple has the advantage of being highly resistant to climate change and requiring fewer inputs than other varieties, he added.
In the 1980's this territory produced 31 thousand tons of pineapples a year, but later its boom began to decrease due to economic difficulties. However, production started to increased again in 2008.
Source: Cuban News Agency