The Region of Murcia remains second in the ranking of Spanish stonefruit exporters, with a total of 183,094 tonnes produced in 2016, which represents 47 percent of the total production, as stressed by the Councillor of Agriculture, Adela Martínez-Cachá, at the inauguration of the 2nd National Stonefruit Congress, held in the Auditorium 'Víctor Villegas' of Murcia.
The head of Agriculture highlighted that the stonefruit production in the Region last year amounted to 396,668 tonnes. Of this, 54 percent corresponded to peaches and Paraguayo peaches, 17 percent to nectarines and platerines, 23 percent to apricots, 5 percent to plums and just under 1 percent to cherries. Approximately 20,000 people were involved in their harvesting, processing and distribution.
As for the acreage, about 25,000 hectares are used for the production of stonefruit, mostly irrigated. Of these, 9,827 hectares are devoted to the production of peaches and Paraguayo peaches, 8,927 to that of apricots, 4,714 to nectarines and platerines, 928 to plums and 330 to cherries.
Martinez-Cachá explained that, in the 2016 campaign, the total stonefruit production fell by about 100,000 tonnes compared to the previous year, mostly because of the frosts recorded in February, which took a toll on the extra-early and early peaches and nectarines. There were losses of between 35 and 40 percent in these varietal groups.
"Although initially the production did not seem to have been affected by frost, eventually there were many issues with cracking and lack of calibre that made the fruit unsuitable for marketing," explained the Councillor. In apricots, plums and cherries, the main cause of the lower yields was the lack of cold hours affecting many varieties, with very irregular blooms and setting.
This year, "an exceptional campaign is expected in terms of yield and fruit quality," said the head of Agriculture, who explained that "there have been plenty of cold hours in all areas, from the earliest to the latest; moreover, the rainfall recorded in December and January has been beneficial and allowed the trees to come out of the winter rest with force, which translates into a uniform flowering and setting; something that is already being reflected in the extra-early and early varieties.
Source: murciaeconomia.com
