Op Primo Sole in Montescaglioso (Matera, Basilicata) grows around 300-350 hectares of fennel all year round except for the summer months. The varieties processed from mid-October include Cartesio, an early-fall fennel by Seminis with a 70-75 day cycle.
"Transplants were carried out on July 31st and harvesting started on October 14th-15th. Quality is excellent. From an agronomic point of view, this variety has surprised me, as harvesting was early here in Basilicata. Over the years, we have always had to deal with rot and weak plants that suffered the heat but, since we started transplanting Cartesio, we can say we managed to find 'summer fennel with a fall quality'."
Sales manager Rosangela Appio added that "unlike other summer varieties, Cartesio fennel bulbs are larger, round, white and with small roots. They have a considerable weight, meaning we can place them on the domestic market, which tends to prefer larger grades."
Thanks to Cartesio by Seminis, this year the PO managed to start with commercialization almost one month early.
"The fall-winter season started off on the right food, with high-quality produce and prices that reflected the market trend. Unfortunately, the effect of Covid-19 is making itself heard. Things are different than during the first lockdown, when people stockpiled leading to crazy orders and triple volumes sold. Consumers seem to have understood that the availability of fruit and vegetables is guaranteed, so they are not purchasing as much."
"The weather is not helping, as temperatures are higher than average and do not favor the consumption of winter vegetables. The same is happening abroad: there is still domestic produce available on the Swiss and German markets - our main buyers - so they have not started importing yet. Nonetheless, we manage to commercialize our productions thanks also to the Dolce Lucano brand, which keeps confirming its sales volumes and market share."
The variety adapted perfectly to the Dolce Lucano brand, launched in 2019 precisely to promote premium fennel from Metaponto. The area is in the heart of Magna Graecia and it was where the vegetable first started to be produced in Italy.
"The studies we conducted in the past proved that it was the Greeks who introduced fennel to our country. In addition, the strong connection the Metaponto area has with with vegetable is due to the quality that fennel bulbs develop here," explained communication and administration manager Francesca Appio.
An important characteristic of Dolce Lucano fennel is its low-environmental impact packaging. "We use fully-recyclable cardboard trays reporting recycling instructions, PLA films and compostable labels that can be disposed of with organic waste," concludes Francesca Appio.
Contacts:
Rosangela Appio
Cell.: +39 3891569876
OP Primo Sole
S.S. 175 km 30,500 sc
75024 Montescaglioso (MT)
Tel./Fax: +39 0835 201993
Email: info@opprimosole.com / op.primosole@pec.it
Facebook: @FinocchioDolceLucano