There is still a little more than one month to go before the next Melotto® persimmon campaign. The circuit of companies was established to support the production of Rojo Brillante persimmons and currently gathers 30 growers located in the center-south of the country. To understand what to expect for next season, FreshPlaza talked to agronomist Vito Vitelli (in the photo below), creator of the network.
"The situation is not brilliant when it comes to quantities, as a 20% drop is expected in most areas due to the cold weather in March/April and intense heat waves in late May. The drop in yields will however be compensated by the excellent grades."
Fruits are still growing and veraison should start in early October. "We are expecting considerable grades this year, above 300-330 g. Thanks to the agronomic techniques we implemented, we have registered no problems caused by harmful organisms except in a few sporadic cases."
"In addition, in some areas such as Campania, fruits will probably ripen one week early due to the greater temperature difference between night and day, though our policy remains that of postponing harvesting as much as possible starting in early December so as to extend the sales calendar. Storage should then last up to 40-50 days in specific controlled-temperature cold storage units. The market conditions between late December and early February are the best in Italy."
Mataix summer pruning - Producer Andrea Favale (Basilicata).
"'Mataix' summer pruning is currently being completed and is useful to obtain larger fruits by suppressing inner branches and shortening external vigorous shoots. The main objective of interventions in late August, however, is to generate floral induction where cuts are carried out in order to guarantee next year's production. Summer pruning guarantees better aeration and the penetration of light and phytosanitary products into the inner parts of the plant."
Producer Rosario Cipolletta - (Campania)
Although the current period is not favorable for the market, expectations to obtain a good remuneration for the 2022 season are high. "The product is very interesting, which encourages us to believe in it and always do better. Prices paid to producers will not go below €0.45-0.50/kg. However, we should always keep an eye on our main competitor, Spain, which carries out aggressive commercial policies that risk destabilizing the Italian market."