Maurizio Musolesi from Monzuno, in the province of Bologna, has been harvesting chestnuts using nets for almost 25 years, which allows him to improve yields and speed up operations. As fruits do not come into direct contact with the ground, they boast higher quality and a prolonged shelf-life. His chestnut grove covers about 4 hectares and is located about 550 metres above sea level.
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Nets placed under the chestnut trees
"Nets are an excellent solution for speeding up harvesting and improving quality as, once the chestnuts have fallen, they slide down the slope and all pile up on one side. It is a technique that I have been using for 25 years, and which I consider useful in all respects. For example, the fact that the chestnuts don't touch the ground means that they dry out faster and thus boast a longer shelf-life."
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Maurizio Musolesi
Musolesi is an expert and his texts have been published in the 'Vita in Campagna' magazine. "We are very pleased with quantities and quality this year. The only negative aspect lies in the rainfall of the past few days, which has contributed to soiling the chestnuts, so we now need more attention and more washing steps."
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Post-washing sorting phase
During the sorting phase, the fruits affected by the cidie larvae are not eliminated, but set aside as the industry buys these too, albeit at a low price. "In my chestnut grove, the yield is around 800-1000 kg per hectare. If you consider an average price of around 450 euro per 100 kg, you get a gross saleable production close to 4000 euro per hectare. This year, by the way, average prices should be even higher."
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Renzo Panzacchi and Luciano Trentini
Musolesi is a member of Consorzio Castanicoltori dell'Appennino Bolognese. Renzo Panzacchi, president of the Consortium, emphasises that "having a trademark guarantees the origin and homogeneity of the product. Our chestnut growers have a lot of experience and work hard to keep quality high. The 3 kg bags of chestnuts bear the Marrone Biondo mark and the identification tag of each producer."
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Luciano Trentini of Centro di Studio e Documentazione sul Castagno di Marradi (Marradi Chestnut Study and Documentation Centre) is one of the promoters of the chestnut exhibition that has been held at the Macfrut fair for the past two years. "We are already working on the 2025 exhibition and several companies from all over Italy have already confirmed their presence."
For more information
Consorzio Castanicoltori
Appennino Bolognese
Viale Risorgimento 1, Pianoro (BO)
+39 366 270 2073
[email protected]