Spain: Counsel explores possibilities for speeding up kaki cultivation

Spain’s Counsel for Agriculture, in cooperation with the Denomination of Origin of Persimmon/Kaki de la Ribera del Xúquer, explores ways to speed up the ripening process of the kaki and the Persimmon. According to inside sources the aim is to enhance the efficiency of cultivation by applying ethephon, the most widely used plant growth regulator.

Ethephon is often used on wheat, coffee, tobacco, cotton, and rice in order to help the plant's fruit reach maturity more quickly. It does this by generating ethylene in the plant, a natural hormone that effectively serves as a boost in the plant’s metabolism. Now, producers mean to use the growth regulation in the cultivation of kaki and Persimmon.

Tests are currently underway, in the field as well as in laboratories. According to a study conducted by DO Kaki de la Ribera del Xúquer, an acceleration of kaki cultivation could yield a 16-million Euro benefit.

Persimmon is a seasonal fruit (between October and February), with carotene, cryptoxanthin and vitamin C, potassium, sugar and glucose and antioxidant and has beneficial effects to people’s health.

Source: Lasprovincias