It's a busy time for the cultivation of pistachios in Italy. The number of hectares continues to increase in the southern regions and the advantage of managing them with more modern agronomic techniques capable of guaranteeing satisfactory economic results is now widely known among growers. The pistachio tree is a species that is well adapted to mechanized harvesting, which is essential for the reduction of labor.
The problem is still the weather. Not so much that of the summer, but that of the winter, since the coldest season of the year seems, in fact, to be getting milder and milder, and therefore not ideal for the quantitative and qualitative outcome of the production.
"The pistachio is one of the many crops that are affected by climate change and has specific needs in terms of the weather," explains agronomist Vito Vitelli. In fact, it needs a certain number of hours of cold weather (below 7°C) between November and January. Estimates range from a minimum of 700 to more than 1,000 hours. I am currently in Sicily for some farm consultations. During the last decade of December, even though the night time lows were below 7°C, the daytime highs were 12-15°C or even 18°C. This means that all the hours of cold weather are neutralized by the above-average daytime temperatures. In Italy, therefore, the conditions for the cultivation of pistachios are becoming more and more prohibitive, because the requirements that are present in the cold hours can hardly be met."
Pistachio trees in the Agrigento area grown with traditional farming system
In recent years, there has been a great deal of innovation in the
management of pistachio plantations. But Vitelli says he also considers other aspects before planting the trees. "This is why we welcome technical and agronomical knowledge and the latest information, but given the weather trend, we must also carefully assess the climate conditions of the area where we are planning on investing."
If the weather is on our side in the summer heat, with temperatures in the Mediterranean areas approaching those typical of the main pistachio-producing countries, such as Iran and Afghanistan, it is not the same in the winter due to global warming.
"There are those who suggest moving production to areas with harsher winters, but the plants flower between March and April and frequent cold spells could damage the crop. As winters become milder, there is a risk of having plants with irregular flowering. Many of the flowers (both male and female) will be sterile. The result is that when the fruit is opened, the shell is empty.”
For more information:
Agronomo Vito Vitelli
+39 3392511629
vitovitelli@tiscali.it
vitovitelli.blogspot.com