Many companies are testing the strawberry varieties patented by CIV, in particular the cultivar named “Flavia,” which is characterized by early ripening, mid-vigor, fruits that are external to the foliage therefore easy to harvest, high resistance to powdery mildew and to leaf and root diseases in general, excellent flavor, very sweet, with low acidity and high percentage of extra quality fruit. Being suitable for replanting practices in exhausted soils by intense and repeated strawberry cultivation, it has shown good adaptability to organic farming and / or low-impact agronomic techniques.
The CIV asked two producers from Policoro for a first-hand testimony. The two producers are located in the Basilicata region, particularly in the area of Policoro, a highly specialized area accounting for 1.000 hectares of strawberries.
The first producer, Salvatore Santorsola, has decided this year to cultivate for the first time in his family business the Flavia strawberry variety, which he had been already monitoring and observing in the last recent years, in his parallel activity as agronomist technical consultant in various local farms. Santorsola currently has 34,000 plants in production. “The Flavia variety proves to be a vigorous variety that quickly reaches a balanced growth in both vegetative and productive terms, guaranteeing an early and constant fruiting. The variety expresses a good adaptability to different and not always optimal soil and climatic conditions, confirming to be a valid choice, if we consider the heterogeneity of our soils and the anomalous climatic trend of the last years," says Santorsola.
He continues then reporting his experience on the fruit quality: “The fruit aesthetic qualities persist for several days after the harvest. Furthermore, this variety achieves uniform fruit coloring even at the beginning of the harvest season, when low temperatures hinder ripening.”
“These factors, added to an overall and constant mid-high fruit quality, appreciated by the vast majority of the customers in terms of taste, place the Flavia strawberry in the medium-high range segment. Its only limitation to date is that it is not yet well known by operators in the sector!”
Another testimony is that of the producer Agostino Oliveto, who has already produced the Flavia strawberry variety for three consecutive years exploiting the replanting technique, without having any negative effect on the productivity and fruit quality.
As a matter of fact, the Flavia variety, like many CIV varieties, is resistant to radical fungal diseases and needs little nitrogen to grow. Agostino states as for the yield “Total productivity is good and is around 800 grams. Normally, the first harvest occurs in an early period, in the first two weeks of January, with 10-15 grams/plant.”
Finally, another very interesting aspect: "Even at high temperatures, such as at the beginning of May, where in most cases the fruit quality of most varieties begins to deteriorate, the Flavia variety maintains top quality!"
For more information:
CIV
Tel: +39 0533 399431
Email: info@civ.it
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