In order to advance in the signing of a mutual collaboration agreement with the purpose of developing new varieties of blueberries in the province of Entre Ríos, directors of the Administrative Commission for the Salto Grande Special Fund (CAFESG), received their peers of the Association of Blueberry Producers of Mesopotamia Argentina (APAMA).

Scopes of the project

It is estimated a execution period of twelve years. They are also linked to CAFESG and APAMA, INTA Concordia, the Faculty of Food Sciences of UNER and the Argentine Delegation of the Mixed Technical Commission of Salto Grande (CTM).

The concern shared by these institutions is related to the fact that the blueberry sector needs cont with new varieties that adapt to the demand and constant demands of export markets and for this it needs to go in search of innovation for better competitiveness.

Engineer Luis Benedetto is in charge of CASFEG and the CTM and in this regard he said: “We had a very productive meeting with APAMA, which is the institution that brings together most of the blueberry producers in our region, with the idea of ​​moving forward in an inter-institutional link where we can empower the sector, each agency contributing the best of itself and thus taking advantage of the potential that such a joint always offers ”.

In this sense, the head of APAMA, Alejandro Pannunzio, pointed out that “we met to advance with the varietal improvement project, this is about obtaining a variety that results in a blueberry well adapted to the climate of Concordia and that at the same time has some special characteristics, such as the need to be suitable for sea transport.

Since it takes us about a month to reach the most distant destinations, and since it is a perishable fruit and that in the future all shipments will be by ship, then we need a variety that is very resistant ”.

Improvement program

The crossing and selection process will be carried out under the local climate, soil, water and biotic environment conditions. Subsequently, the varieties obtained after a natural process of genetic recombination and a rigorous selection process must be superior to varieties originating in other environmental conditions.

Objective

First part: the identification of the varieties that will be used and their respective crosses will be carried out. Second part: will be fully devoted to the development of the best results obtained for cultivation in the region.

"The blueberry has occupied a very important place in the productive sector of our province for years, which although it is a seasonal fruit like citrus is also, demands a considerable workforce, both directly and indirectly, so contributing to whatever its development is in terms of technological innovation applied to productivity, is also strengthen a source of income for many families in our Salto Grande Region”Benedetto added.

The vast majority of the blueberry varieties grown in the Salto Grande region come from genetic improvement programs in other countries which present different objectives, partially sharing local problems.

To conclude, the president of APAMA assured that “it gives us great satisfaction to see that we are contributing with this project to meet one of the objectives of public organizations such as CAFESG, which is to contribute to research and development in science that remains in the region"