The Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, and Fisheries of the Government of the Canary Islands stated that it carried out a training activity on the island of El Hierro through the Canary Islands Institute for Agricultural Research (ICIA) so that tropical pineapple producers implement cultivation technologies in their usual tasks.
The training was carried out on Wednesday, September 21, at the Office of Agrarian Extension in Frontera, El Hierro. There were presentations by specialists, a seminar, and a Q&A session.
“El Hierro has around 130 hectares dedicated to this crop, which has become one of the main economic resources of the workers of the Meridian Island countryside. Therefore, it's essential to seek alternative solutions to the diseases in the soil that traditionally had been fought with plant protection products that are currently banned by Europe," stated Alicia Vanoostende, the area's advisor.
Miguel de Cara, a researcher at the Agricultural and Fisheries Training Institute of Andalusia, spoke about using bio-solarization techniques for soil disinfection as an alternative to plant protection products. IPN-CSIC researcher Jana Alonso and Agro-Ecology technician Ildefonso Acosta spoke about the experiences of organic tropical pineapple production and fertilization in the Canary Islands.
ICIA researchers Juan Cabrera and Maria Jose Grajal made a presentation about the selection and accelerated multiplication of tropical pineapple plants program.
This action has European funding through the Interreg program and the Fruttmac Territorial Cooperation 2014-2020 action, as well as the collaboration of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries, and Sustainable Development of the Junta de Andalucía, IPNA-CSIC, and the Cabildo de El Hierro.
Source: gobiernodecanarias.org