The producers from Huelva of blueberries know the experience of Argentina in this crop in the COITAND Day
One of the presentations of the III Technical Conference on Blueberry, organized by the Official College of Agricultural Technical Engineers of Western Andalusia (COITAND) and which was held this Tuesday at the University Campus of La Rábida, which has aroused great interest has been the intervention of Pablo Rubio, advisor on blueberry crops in Argentina, who spoke precisely about the situation of this crop in the Andean country.
Rubio has shared with the attendees the experience of blueberry producers in his country and has expressed his surprise when he has known first hand the situation of the sector of the red fruits in Huelva, and especially the blueberry farms "Because the situation is very similar to that of Argentina".
In this country of the South American cone, 2.750 hectares of blueberries are currently cultivated, with a production of 21.000 tons, of which around 17.000 are exported, "We are also, like you, purely exporters", emphasizes the expert. The main destination markets, mainly by air but also by sea, are the USA, with almost 65% in 2015, followed by the United Kingdom and continental Europe, with an 15% of exports, and to a lesser extent Canada and Asia, except China.
Argentina has three production zones, which go from the north to the center of the country, with different climatic characteristics, and constitutes an important supplier of blueberries in a counter-season for the Northern Hemisphere. The bulk of production is concentrated in a few 100 or 110 days, which go from August to November, "Although it is almost no business to produce in November", Rubio apostille.
"Since we started production in 1998 it has been a roller coaster and we have had to adapt to many things," the Argentinean expert stressed, and precisely one of the aspects that the sector has had to face is the varietal renewal, " we are not going to increase the production hectares but we are immersed in a process of renewal of the varieties, we started with erroneous varieties and that has made us suffer a lot "underlines Rubio, who indicates that currently the blueberry varietal map in Argentina is changing towards ultra-early varieties such as the 'Snowchaser', which begins production in mid-August.
The advancement of production, post-harvest quality, high productivity and taste and organoleptic characteristics are the criteria that Argentine producers have in mind when facing this varietal replacement.
However, Rubio has warned that the situation may change in the coming years with the increase in the blueberry production market in Peru, which in 2017 will export some 34.000 tons, but this figure is expected to increase in 2018 up to the 56.000 tons, although still very far from the 110.000 tons exported by Chile.
At the III COITAND Blueberry Technical Conference, other topics of interest to Huelva producers were also discussed, such as the one addressed by Pablo Alvarado, director of the Huelva Plant Health laboratory, and Orta Health, also from the Plant Health laboratory de Huelva, on the possible pathological threats in the cultivation of blueberries, which have made a complete description of pathogens that could affect this crop.
The head of the Plant Health Department in Huelva, Elisa Dominguez, spoke in her speech about Xylella Fastidiosa, and emphasized that the main phytosanitary control measure of this bacterium, with a huge pathogenic potential on a large number of plants , is to take extreme precautions regarding the trade of sensitive plant material to avoid the arrival of infected plants, material that must always come from authorized producers and with a phytosanitary passport, where appropriate.
Domínguez explained that due to its climatic conditions, the areas with the greatest potential risk for the expansion of this bacterium, whose main route of dispersal is the transport of contaminated plant material that is then transmitted to other plants through insect vectors, is the area Mediterranean warm-temperate climate, such as the Iberian Peninsula, Italy and Greece.
Dominguez also recalled that in Europe the first detections of Xylella Fastidiosa were in October of 2013 seriously affecting the olive grove, and later in July of 2015 in France, in April of 2016 in Germany and in November of 2016 in the Balearic Islands.
Source: Agrodiariohuelva.es
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