The province of Ciego de Avila is developing more than 600 hectares of pineapple with the maximum of cultural attention to continue increasing the production of one of its main fruit products.
State farmers and producers are prioritizing this product in the south and center of the territory to meet manufacturing needs, increase sales abroad, and benefit the national economy.
Engineer Reinaldo de Avila Guerra, the director of the Base Business Unit dedicated to the pineapple boom, said that Hurricane Irma and the subsequent damages of the last months delayed plantings and harmed crops, but that there had been a remarkable improvement from January to date.
The most desired variety in the European continent is the MD-2 pineapple, which was introduced into Ciego de Avila in 2012 and it is the only variety with more than one hundred hectares in Cuba; the remaining surfaces are covered by the Spanish Red variety, which is also grown in other provinces.
Avila Guerra stressed that they had abundant plantings of both varieties, technical resources, and the desire to work. The small factories and the Agroindustrial Ceballos company currently process the fruit for sale in local markets, tourism, squares and other points of interest.
Engineer Wilver Bringas Fernandez, the general director of the Agroindustrial Ceballos Company, said that having two types of pineapple was a great advantage. The MD-2 produces about 80 tons per hectare, while the Spanish Red, which is resistant to climate change and demand less inputs, only produces twenty tons.
Ciego de Avila, which has a history of producing pineapple with its ups and downs, has stabilized its production with the introduction of modern technology.
A change in the sowing system, the introduction of irrigation equipment, and a better dosage of fertilizers and biological means against pests and diseases allowed Ciego de Avila to increase its production plans, said Bringas Fernandez.
Source: ACN