According to estimates from the Melón y Sandía de Castilla-La Mancha Inter-branch organization based on data provided by the nurseries, the area devoted to growing watermelons in the autonomous community would increase by 20 to 25 % this campaign.
"This increase worries us," stated the president of the entity, Cristobal Jimenez. "The region's production would greatly exceed the average of the last five seasons, increasing from 190,000 to 230,000 tons." The inter-branch organization recommended producers to be prudent, adequately plan their production following a staggered sowing scheduling, especially readjusting the watermelon surfaces.
According to estimates, the area devoted to melon will be similar to last year's area. The inter-branch organization expects that, even though there will be an increase in small-caliber varieties - such as the Piel de Sapo melon and yellow melon-, there won't be an increase in the area harvested and the harvest will be similar to that of 2020.
2020 campaign
According to the data from the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Food, in the 2020 campaign, Castilla-La Mancha had 2,768 hectares devoted to watermelon crops which produced 192,000 tons, and 5,878 hectares of melon crops, which produced 171,000 tons.
Source: lanzadigital.com