Growers in Jumilla, in the Altiplano area of Murcia, Spain, are concerned about the next Ercolini pear season, which is starting in mid-July, due to the heavy hailstorms in spring. When the campaign comes to a close in late August, it will be possible to take stock of the kilos lost. This area is also an important stone fruit producer and is already seeing significant losses.
Ercolini pears are highly appreciated in Spain and Italy. According to Juan José Arenas, Sales Director of Campos de Jumilla, "the Altiplano has very good conditions for fruit trees, which is why our season is quite long. It starts with the apricot harvest at the end of April and finishes with yellow peaches in mid-October."
The cooperative was founded in 1986 and has 700 hectares which annually yield 15 million kilos of domestic apricots, French apricots, red peaches, nectarines, flat peaches, yellow peaches and Ercolini pears, which are marketed in both domestic and European supermarkets.
Almost 400 people are employed at peak season, but despite the good figures, Arenas says that "our biggest concern is the increasingly lower amount of chilling hours. Here, the norm was 800 hours of cold, but we are currently at half of that, and this is causing a reduction in the productivity of apricot trees. That is why many growers have converted their plantations to yellow peaches, of which we have managed to obtain up to 6 million kilos a year."
One of Jumilla's most emblematic fruits is the Ercolini pear, known for its size, flavor and color. It hits the market at the same time as the Conference and the Limonera, but "there are consumers who prefer the Ercolini because of its crunchy texture and sweetness. It is medium-sized, between 52 and 55 mm, and weights around 100 grams. The Ercolini production varies per year. One year, you'll obtain 25,000 kg per hectare, and the next, 10,000. Only a limited number of growers strike a balance," says Arenas.
Regarding the losses caused by hail in May, Arenas says that "we should currently have 350 people working and we only have 90. We are expecting half the number of kilos of Ercolini pear in Jumilla because of the hail. In total, we may have lost around 10 million kilos of all fruits; in other words, 60% of the production. Apricots have borne the brunt with 96% of the fruit damaged. Some growers are uprooting trees because of trunk damage or are pruning very intensively."
Organic Ercolini pear
"We are shipping about 500,000 kilos of organic Ercolini pears, mainly to Germany." Regarding the organic sector, Arenas believes that "organic products are not as successful as they should be because the quality requirements for conventional produce are sometimes even more restrictive than those for organic."
The production lines for organic Ercolini pears and apricots are "the least productive ones, and they also record the lowest demand. Many prefer to convert their organic crops to conventional because the fruit has a very similar quality and much higher productivity," says the manager.
Outlook for platerinas
As far as platerinas are concerned, Arenas says that "there is a boom in the markets. In the past, they were small and had a large pit; they were not very productive crops, but now they have improved and more is being planted. Flat peach is one of the most widely consumed fruits. Platerinas may take its place, but the skin of the former is more resistant to handling and, in the end, consumers want undamaged fruit."
In search of water
Regarding the water supply in the Altiplano, Arenas says that "here we don't depend on the Tagus-Segura water transfer, nor are we affected by the Mar Menor regulations, but crops are going to be reduced due to overexploitation of the aquifers from which we extract water at a depth of 400 meters. When these regulations come into effect in 2027, there will be a reduction in plantations and we will have to adapt."
For more information:
Juan José Arenas
Sales Director
Campos de Jumilla
Tel.: +34 968 780 114
[email protected]
www.camposdejumilla.com