TRADE AND MARKETING Complete cropping marketing programmes provide the Italian market with new élan In addition to the necessary four to six irrigation sessions, the manual harvesting is driving up the cost price. their crops free of weeds. However, it can’t be used for all varieties, because some are sensitive to this product, which causes yield losses. Nicola says that he applies 600 grams of Sencor per hectare. This year, his crops were severely hit by the strong wind during the growing season, as a result of which they were sometimes damaged. Also, the soil was extra dry. Because he irrigates his crops regularly, he also has to contend a lot with Phytophthora. For us, it’s an important disease to keep under control, Nicola says. Growers in the region still use products such as Ridomil and Pergado. Fortunately, the price is good this year. At the end of May, the price was approx. 40 euro cents per kilogram. A much better price than last year, when they only got between 7 and 10 cents. Two years ago, the price was really good and they got as much as 48 euro cents per kilogram for their potatoes. Difficult to expand The Giannuzzi family grows around 6 hectares of potatoes annually on their 10 hectare farm. They don’t lease extra land, and therefore have a very tight crop rotation. This clearly explains one of the most important problems of th e area. This very intensive way of growing potatoes makes heavy demands on soil fertility and has a high risk of introducing nematodes. It’s very hot in summer, however, which means the soil temperature rises considerably, killing a lot of pathogens. After the potatoes, Nicola often grows lettuce for salads or parsley, and then often potatoes again in the spring. It’s difficult for growers to break through this cropping cycle. They often only cultivate small areas and, because of the fragmentation of the plots, it’s difficult for them to expand. As a result of a growing demand for land for housing and businesses, the price of land is rising enormously. More price security In order to produce in this area in a market-oriented way, the Giannuzzi family works closely with Alberto Roncagli of th e Marmocchi Angiolino Company. He is the agent of Agroplant in Italy. Roncagli tells the Giannuzzi family that it is a model for many growers in this region. He says that many table potatoes in this region were grown for the free market. Varieties such as Spunta, Nicola and Sieglinde were the biggest in the region. Today, trading companies such as Marmocchi sell new varieties with complete cultivation and marketing programmes. This offers more price security for the growers. Moreover, they get paid for the quality they provide. Roncagli explains that the cultivation of potatoes in the region of Puglia is in line with the strategy of his company to supply the Actrice variety all year around. ‘We start growing the variety in Sicily in November. We can start lifting here from the end of February. The first potatoes from this area are marketed under the brand name Novelle. These are first-early potatoes that don’t yet have a firm skin. From the end of March we can also offer firm-skinned potatoes from Sicily. Sales of these potatoes continue until the end of April/beginning of May. When the crop in Puglia is ripe, we supply Actrice from mid-May until the end of June. At the end of June, the potatoes in the Bologna region in the northern part of Italy are harvested. This is the area where we have based our company. In this region, growers can also store their potatoes, so that we’re able to supply potatoes from storage until the end of May of the following year. Because Actrice can be easily stored and sold freshly lifted, we can offer our customers 24 Potato World 2016 • number 1 Pagina 23
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