As the Bebnissi Family Gardens company said, this year, 25 hectares of pear varieties Abat fetel, Santa Maria, Conference, and Williams Red will be planted in the territories of the former experimental and leading fruit enterprise in the USSR next to Kareli, Shida Kartli region. The garden will be planted using super-intensive technology, which suggests a distance between trees of 0.8 cm and between rows of 3.20 meters.
At this stage, preparatory work has been carried out to purchase planting material, trellis, irrigation systems, and soil preparation. In the near future, the company will begin installing a trellis and anti-hail system, EastFruit notes. Planting material was purchased from leading producers of pear seedlings from Italy, which guarantee premium and export-oriented product quality, excellent seedling survival rate, and high yield. The excellent health of fruit trees, the absence of viruses, and high resistance to diseases are confirmed by a quality certificate and a certificate of origin. The first harvest is planned no earlier than 2025.
According to company representatives, the decision to invest in the project was based on a feasibility study developed jointly with Italian partners using the UNIDO methodology, which revealed a quick payback period (up to 4 years) and a high annual internal rate of return (120%). Also, the market situation reinforces such high economic indicators, namely, a sharp drop in pear production in Europe and increased domestic demand in Georgia, which caused a sharp rise in prices. This trend will continue in the coming years until a sufficient number of super-intensive pear orchards is established.
Bebnissi Gardens already grows AbateFitel and Conference pear in about 3 hectares and more than 15 varieties of apples on 35 hectares in Bebnissi. The company has its own modern refrigeration complexes with 2000 tons of fruit products. Bebnissi Family Gardens also successfully manages 45 hectares of super-intensive pear orchards in Eastern Georgia.
For more information: east-fruit.com