Spain: Project to improve European cherry cultivation
Counsellor for Agriculture, Fishing, Food and Water, Maritina Hernández, had a meeting with representatives of those entities to analyse the working lines for this initiative and the commercial chances of the cherry sector in Spain.
The purpose of the study, led by the Institute of Valencia for Agricultural Investigations (IVIA), is to evaluate the different systems of protection to reduce the rays in the cherry and determine the efficiency of the application of compounds rich in calcium to control the incidence of the so called "cherry spot", and to evaluate the effect of those compounds on the improvement of cherry productivity and the organoleptic characteristics of the fruit.
For that, since the weather conditions have an impact on the the commercial value of the cherry, the Council will place covers of plastic in some plantations in different places to analyse the effects. This will require an investment above 81,000 Euro. Moreover, the personnel at IVIA will make precise analyses of the fruit's properties and will evaluate the results.
On their side, PGI "Cherry from the Alicante Mountain" and the companies in the sector will take charge of making cultivation parcels available, to develop the works, to keep exploitations and to determine the quality of the fruit in their investigation facilities.
Data for the cherry sector
In the Valencia Community, the cultivated area covers 2,600 hectares and the yearly production is around 6,4000 tons, representing 6.5% of national production.
The most important producing area is supported by the PGI, that gathers an area around 1,000 hectares, from the north of the Alicante province to the south of the Valencia province. Presently the most cultivated variety in the area is "Burlat", with about 45% of te area, followed by "Starkin" /25%) and "Ambrunés" (8%).
Source: Gva