Pepper is Almeria's leading greenhouse production product. It ranks first in surface area, production volume, and production value. In addition, projections indicate that it will continue to be the leading product in the province's greenhouses, such as in the new high-tech facilities of Romenatur, which specializes in the cultivation of the Palermo variety.
"We finished the green pepper harvest just a few days ago, and in a couple of weeks, we'll start the new planting cycles. In general, in this campaign, production has increased by 15% in conventional greenhouses and by more than 30% in high-tech greenhouses, which allowed us to extend the campaign for another month," stated Juanmi Romera.
Romenatur's new facilities' climate control allowed them to increase their productivity in a campaign in which, according to the sector, there have been unusual temperatures throughout fall and part of winter. They also allowed them to have greater control over pests, which this year have exerted a lot of pressure on some plantations.
"Specifically, the Parvispinus Thrips, the new Thrips are affecting pepper plantations in Almeria. We detected it in time, so we were able to establish localized releases of Orius to successfully end it, but its control is proving very difficult even with the integrated fight," stated Juanmi. "We've had to multiply by 7 and 8 the Orius treatments that we would perform for the normal thrips affecting pepper, but we know of plantations that have had to be completely uprooted because the farmers have had no way to end the Parvispinus. We do not know what the situation will be like in the new campaign, but we will have to establish a very powerful alert mechanism to keep this pest at bay."
"All the campaigns have new challenges. The new high-tech farms allow us to control more environmental parameters and variables, such as humidity, temperature, or radiation. This has allowed us to optimize the production capacity of the plants as much as possible. We believe that this is the path towards a future in which production quality and stability will mark the new commercial challenges," Montse González stated.
"Cucumber is where we've made the most of high technology"
"In general, Red Palermo prices increased by around 30% compared to previous campaigns. Green pepper prices have been more unstable, and their average stood at €0.84. That's why 80% of what we produce is mainly concentrated in the red variety."
"We sold it in bulk and in 500-gram bags, a format that has done very well this year. People are going for a product that, on average, is cheaper, and they can take better advantage of it. Demand has been good, especially since January and February, when it usually increases. In fact, we don't have enough product to supply all the orders we receive."
Once this first 5-hectare-of-new-greenhouses phase has been completed, Romenatur plans to start a second phase in which it is contemplating new refrigeration options to maintain production in times of high temperature, not only of Palermo pepper but of the other vegetable in which the company is specialized: cucumber.
"We've increased pepper production by 30% compared to a conventional greenhouse, but with the hydroponic system, cucumber production has skyrocketed by more than 40%."
For more information:
Romenatur
Paraje la cumbre s/n
04700 El Ejido, Almería (España)
Tel.: +34 645 765 095 / +34 645 769 977
[email protected]
www.romenatur.com
