Technical conference brings together actors from the Argentine blueberry sector

Technical day brings together actors from the Argentine blueberry sector

06/06/2015

It is expected that more than 300 actors of the cranberry industry, from producers from different areas of Argentina and Latin America, professionals, advisors and technicians to international recipients, will meet in Concordia, Entre Ríos (Argentina) for the 7 ° Regional Technical Conference in Blueberries, organized by the Association of Cranberry Producers of the Mesopotamia Argentina (APAMA).

What began as an event focused exclusively on local producers, today takes on an international character. The day has presentations, workshops and business rounds, as well as a field trip to one of the most important plantations in the area.

It should be noted that the activity linked to this fruit has grown considerably in recent years, both in tons produced and in labor employed, and has positioned Concordia as the epicenter of cranberry production, both nationally and internationally.

"Initially, the conference started only with technical support to the producers with topics related to production. As we have been growing, we have been incorporating other aspects"Said engineer Gonzalo Carlazara, technical chief of APAMA.

"This year we are going to present all the essays from last season's research studies that are related to agronomic behavior, which has to do with quality and post-harvest of new varieties that have been introduced in Argentina"Carlazara said.

"We will compare traditional varieties such as Emerald and Snowchaser with the new materials we have incorporated from Florida. We compare everything that is phenology, yield, production, quality, firmness and post-harvest ... a complete analysis of these varieties"He added.

Continuing in the technical aspect, during the event will also be presented trials of new products for the control of post-harvest rot, as well as everything related to the agronomic design, the irrigation system and frost control.

"We are going to bring a person from Chile - the engineer Patricio Hernández from Fall Creek - who is going to talk about the new materials that are both in Chile and in Argentina with a low cold requirement. He is going to do an update of what are the early varieties for South America"Added the engineer.

For his part, Juan Román Paredes, treasurer of APAMA commented that this year they took advantage of incorporating the commercial part. Here they have exhibitors such as Jorge Andrés Varela, executive director of Agroberries Chile, who will illustrate the current world stage of the cranberry.

"We also have a conference for the strategic development of the Argentine domestic market, not only in terms of consumption as fresh fruit but also by-products that come out of the cranberry industry"Paredes said, adding exhibitions on agroclimatic and economic aspects that are expected in Argentina for the season.

To highlight, this year will have the presence of the Argentine Cooks Program, which will develop live some dishes with blueberries.

Census of blueberries

A key aspect of the day is the presentation of the results of CENSO APAMA. This will show the surface and varieties of blueberries grown in Argentina, and will show a clear picture of local production, especially as a result of the incorporation of new varieties in the past harvest.

"We make the first estimate for the receivers of the fruit that leaves Argentina”Carlazara pointed out.

"Today the days have become a meeting place, where people get the first notion of what will be the volumes of Argentina, a notion of where the types of varieties are going, how new flavors are looked for and how new varieties are given".

For his part, Paredes highlighted the importance of the census indicating that Argentina is the one who starts with the world blueberry season from September to the beginning of December.

"The census allows to mark how many kilos the country is going to produce, how many kilos will Argentina produce in its different regions, what will be its dates of exits and peaks of harvests"He said.

"The focus is clearly on that. It is a meeting place where everything is technical, adding everything that is international marketing strategies and internal market, which we clearly believe is something that has to grow, taking advantage of that we have a large market to give greater support to everything that It is the export industry"Said Carlazara.

As a special condiment, this year the conference will be a kind of anteroom for the meeting of the International Blueberry Organization (IBO), which brings together all the blueberry producing countries of the world and which will host the cities of Concordia and Salto in August of 2016 .

Data of interest

The 7 ° Regional Technical Conference on Blueberries will be held at the Concordia Convention Center, Entre Ríos, on 25 and 26 days in June.

Source: Fruit Portal