The Pink Lady® Europe association was present at the Fruit Attraction trade fair in Madrid from 5 to 7 October 2021. Pink Lady Europe welcomed a total of 8,000 visitors to its 72m2 stand made from 100% cardboard, 2,000 ice lollies were sampled - made by the famous pastry chef Christian Escribà who was present on the stand - and 10,000 direct contacts took place between Pink Lady teams and their partners.
Slightly lower yield
For this season, the Association expects a harvest of around 225-230,000 tonnes gross, a 15% decrease compared to N-1 due to the frost wave that hit Pink Lady Europe's orchards at the end of the flowering period. It is estimated that about 15% of the total gross fruit yield was affected, but the ripening apples are of good quality.
As part of continued progress, Pink Lady Europe continues to implement its charter of commitments to the 4 areas it is committed to (environment, producers, areas, consumers) to ensure the quality of the apples and the sustainability of the orchards. More specifically:
Developing sustainable commitments: the introduction of cardboard packaging for Pink Lady and PinKids to eliminate the use of disposable plastic continues and will be fully operational by 2022.
Biodiversity conservation: Pink Lady has signed a partnership agreement with the LPO, a member of the Bird Life International network for nature conservation, with the aim of "strengthening the role of agriculture in the protection of biodiversity". This partnership allows the LPO to access 550 hectares of Pink Lady® orchards to collect data on fauna. An awareness programme will then be set up with Pink Lady producers to help them establish the necessary agro-ecological infrastructures.
Innovation and technology for more sustainable production: The Pink LAB is a kind of incubator-start-up. It seeks out companies and helps them develop their technology to improve the sustainability and efficiency of production by adapting it to the specific characteristics of Pink Lady® cultivation. This way they can support producers with innovations and offer them more sustainable production methods.
Two examples of projects:
Harvest 2021 project: this autumn, grading 2.0 thanks to imaging technologies that make it possible to estimate the colour and size distribution of a palox. Clarifruit is a tool developed in cooperation with IRTA. It is currently being tested in a network of Pink Lady stations, which in time will make it possible to determine pack-out trends in the orchard and thus better manage harvesting operations.
Project 2021-2022: partnership with ITK, a specialist in "connected services" for the agricultural and horticultural sector, to set up an ADO with maps of weather forecasts and warnings, and in particular cold maps tailored to the region and the phenological stage of the variety, enabling producers to improve orchard management and anticipate risks.
For more information:
Daphné Annino
Pink Lady Europe
daphne.annino@pinkladyeurope.com
www.pinkladyeurope.com