Strawberry producers in Mediterranean areas are already at work. The land where the seedlings will be planted to produce strawberries for the 2022 campaign is being prepared.
The choice of varieties in the strawberry sector is strategic. Producers choose varieties very carefully in order to obtain quality production during the most favorable market periods, which normally coincide with the Christmas holidays and continue until late spring.
Strawberry field - variety of NSG 120 (Rossetta)
Nova Siri Genetics, a company active in the field of research of new strawberry selections, has been providing innovative varieties to Mediterranean growers for over ten years, in order to meet new production and market requirements.
Our research is aimed at obtaining cultivars suitable for Mediterranean climates and characterized by hardiness, earliness and productivity. The fruits have good organoleptic characteristics and an excellent shelf-life. This is very important since the production areas, such as the regions of southern Italy and Spain, are often very far from the target markets. At the moment, nursery growers are multiplying their varieties in Spain and Poland.
Nicola Tufaro, breeder of Nova Siri Genetics
"In the Iberian Peninsula, and in particular in the region of Castilla y Leon, authorized nurseries, including Viveros California and Viveros Heresma have implemented nurseries for the varieties NSG 203 (Marimbella®), NSG 207 (Gioelita®) and NSG 120 (Rossetta®), which are intended for the strawberry plantings that will be carried out in Huelva."
Strawberry growers in the Huelva area, which is the most important strawberry growing area in Europe, introduced selections from Nova Siri Genetics a few years ago. The new entry variety NSG 203 (Marimbella®) is very popular and has stood out for its earliness, hardiness of the plant, productivity and shelf life. These characteristics make it possible to offer the market a strawberry produced with low environmental impact cultivation techniques (organic/integrated), starting from the winter months and continuing until late spring.
Strawberry seedlings grown in Polish nurseries
With regard to the Italian market, nurseries for the cultivars NSG 120 (Rossetta®), NSG 203 (Marimbella®), NSG 207 (Gioelita®) and Melissa were established by authorized nurseries in Poland and partly in Spain.
Southern Italian growers, especially those in Campania in the area of the Piana del Sele and the Caserta areas, have replaced past varieties with Melissa, NSG 203 (Marimbella®) and NSG 207 (Gioelita®). These new selections are grown organically or integrated and marketed from January to June on the main national and foreign markets. In Basilicata, along with Melissa and NSG 203, growers have successfully introduced NSG 120 (Rossetta®), a variety that stands out with the beauty of its fruit, its organoleptic characteristics and its earliness. In Sicily and Calabria, the demand for the variety Melissa, which is increasingly appreciated for its rusticity and fruit quality, is growing.
SìBon packaging dedicated to Melissa
The interest in our varieties from growers fills us with pride because it shows that our research is going in the right direction. Our mission is to offer producers innovative solutions to overcome the problems linked to climate change and the need to abandon the intensive use of plant protection products. The goal is to offer the market more sustainable and tasty strawberries at every stage of the campaign. Our commitment, therefore, extends to the whole chain, as demonstrated by our Varietal Club project, launched this year and for which we have many ideas for the future. The aim is to forge partnerships with players in the Mediterranean basin to facilitate the meeting of supply and demand. This can be achieved through guidance in selecting the right variety for each producer, nursery owner and buyer, as well as developing brand policies aimed at the end consumer, so that they have all the tools they need to appreciate the characteristics of each individual variety of strawberry in our range.
For more information:
Nova Siri Genetics Srl
Via San Maurizio, 46
75025 Policoro (MT)
[email protected]
www.novasirigenetics.com