In December, the watermelon harvest begins in Jaguaruna, in the south of the state. The municipality has the largest area of planted fruit in Santa Catarina, with 600 hectares taken care of by 70 families.
The expectation is to harvest the same amount as in the last harvest: 15,000 tons of fruit. This contributes so that 80% of the watermelon that arrives at the fruit and vegetable supply centers in the state, between December and January, comes from the municipality.
Producer Felipe Bittencourt de Pacheco claims that cultivation is a source of income as well as a tradition. "At first, the financial one, it actually gives a differentiated return, but for so long, I believe I have already created this more sentimental value, my grandparents had been planting for a long time and, well, we've been working with the culture and it ends up creating this passion”, he said.
Source: abrafrutas.org
