Greenhouses
Spanish and
Italians unite to
grow greenhouse
raspberries
T
he Spanish Planasa S.A. and two Italian groups
- Mediterraneo Group SpA and Compagnia
delle Primizie – recently announced they are
collaborating and making investments into a
project creating an Italian berry chain that is likely to
be a good competitor in retail.
The plan is to cultivate around 14
hectares of Adelita raspberries,
which will be available between
November and August.
Planitalia (Italian section of
Planasa) owner Carmela Suriano
explains that “the soft fruit category
is expanding in Italy and retailers
will recognise the quality of our
products. It is a great occasion for
the Southern growing areas, as
tests were successful in Basilicata,
Campania, Calabria and Sicily.”
The variety will be cultivated and
sold as a club variety and has
excellent organoleptic qualities
and a good shelf-life.
Soil-less Adelita
raspberry cultivation
Adelita, a variety selected by
Planasa group, adapts well to
the Mediterranean climates of
southern Italy, so fruit can ripen
starting from November.
The first transplants are carried out
in late May-early July or between
early July and early August for
soil-less crops in polystyrene vases
with coir substrates.
Non-heated
greenhouses
equipped with shading nets and
plastic films from former stone
fruit orchards (5-7 m wide, 4045 m long and 3.5 m high) can
be used, calculating a distance
between rows of around 1.7
m and a distance between
plants of 0.20-0.25 m for an
investment of around 18,000
22
plants per hectare.
The fruit is sweet and slightly
acidic with appealing and uniform
grades. Shelf-life is excellent,
say the growers.
In addition, as the variety is
resistant to fungi and mites, and it
is perfect for southern Italy.
The first transplants are carried
out from mid-May and harvesting
starts
in
late
September.
Transplants can be carried
out every 15 days until July for
harvesting between October and
December. This is made possible
thanks to soil-less cultivation.
After the first harvesting, plants are
clipped at 1.5 m high. There is a
for a second harvesting in AprilMay. The average production is
1-1.5 kg per plant.
“There are some cultivars in
southern Italy that should be
replaced as no one wants them
anymore. Adelita raspberries
are the first step in this
direction,” said Suriano.
AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2016