"Not one of my 100 employees remained home despite the cold weather of the past few days. Harvesting operations are continuing daily and volumes are interesting: over 10 crates for each 45-meter span, even when the temperature did not reach 10°C," reports Policoro producer Domenico Cuccarese.
Domenico Cuccarese - Marimbella variety
"This year, we planted around 16 hectares with the Rossetta, Gioelita, Marimbella and Melissa varieties, which stand out due to their earliness, quantities, high-quality and exceptional resistance to late temperature drops, which are increasingly frequent in our area. Of course I have noticed some delays in ripening (around -5%), but not as much as it used to happen for other cultivars."
Varietà Gioelita - Foto scattata il 25 marzo 2021
"So far, I have harvested over 350 grams/plant of Marimbella, 330 g of Gioelita and approximately 200 g of Rossetta and Melissa. As of March 25th, I managed to cover all my investment expenses per hectare, especially thanks to the satisfactory prices."
Despite the cold front that only moved on from the southern regions in the past few hours, Domenico Cuccarese managed to deliver considerable quantities to Compagnia delle Primizie, the cooperative that commercializes small fruits in Italy.
To get a more accurate idea of how this was possible, FreshPlaza talked about it with Nicola Tufaro, breeder at Nova Siri Genetcs, the company that selected, tested and multiplied the above-mentioned varieties. "These cultivars are selected in Italy, in the Metaponto area, so they are local to the area and more suitable for our climate compared to those coming from e.g. Spain, which has a warmer climate. Of course, had the weather been better, quantities would have been higher. Anyway there is a lot of ripe produce and green fruits, plus new blossoms are already visible."
For further information:
Compagnia delle Primizie
Viale Salerno, 13/15
75025 Policoro, MT - Italy
+39 0835.902017
info@compagniadelleprimizie.com
compagniadelleprimizie.com