Interest in firm-fleshed persimmons is not just European, as it is spreading overseas with several companies planting hundreds of hectares in Latin America.
Agronomist Vito Vitelli considers Uruguay, Paraguay and Brazil new areas that can produce high-quality persimmons in a more modern way, thanks to innovative and low environmental impact management techniques.
"Europeans, and Spaniards in particular, are interested in importing persimmons of South American origin in order to extend the commercial calendar, and thus cover a wide seasonality starting in October with the product cultivated in the northern hemisphere (i.e. ours), and ending in late June with that grown in the southern hemisphere. The strong points are the application of techniques for delaying harvesting and cold storage for long periods, which have been used in Europe for a long time. These methods, for which application protocols have been refined in recent years, will enable operators to place the produce on the market and consume it for a good part of the year, as is the case with apples, for example," explains the agronomist during one of his working trips to a farm in Uruguay covering 2,000 hectares, a few hundred of which are planted with persimmons.
For persimmons too, the planting pattern has been considerably reduced in recent years in order to increase efficiency. In fact, we have gone from the 6x4-5 m widespread in Campania to the current 5x2.5 m, but we are aiming at further thickening along rows to reach over 1,600 plants/hectare.
High-density persimmon orchard, over 1000 plants per hectare (Uruguay)
"Harvesting in South America is 15-20 days away. Fruits are now in the veraison phase. The objective is to have a production of 35-40 kg/plant and to exceed 50 t/ha of high-quality fruit. This can be achieved with proper and rational canopy management, nutrition, defense, careful soil, and water management, and with possible thickening to increase plant density. I flew to Uruguay to increase the existing plant density, also thanks to innovative techniques such as walls and 'single-axis columns', a cultivation model that I designed and which is already being experimented with within some Italian companies, to obtain plants that do not develop in volume, but which are equipped with a central column without support structures, from which multiple strong branches grow. Summer pruning with targeted cuts results in very short fruit-bearing branches that are well anchored to the central column and capable of bearing the weight of extra fruits. Precisely because persimmon trees are long-living plants, yet with weak wood, frequent renewal and rejuvenation cuts are essential. This abundance of pruning leads to plants that are smaller in height and width and, therefore, more manageable."
The soil and climate characteristics of South America are ideal for persimmons. Among its strengths is the total absence of certain pests/insects, which are very common on our continent, and the considerable availability of water resources thanks to the presence of basins and reservoirs fed by Amazonian rivers.
"Persimmon plants are underestimated because people think that their cultivation is within everyone's reach. However, it is necessary to know their physiology in order to achieve high performance, as they tend to produce weak fruiting branches and therefore small-sized fruits, not required by the market. To obtain sizes of at least 300 g, it is necessary to adopt techniques based on the induction of flower buds on vigorous branches through targeted cuts in late summer."
For more information:
Agronomist Vito Vitelli
+39 3392511629
vitovitelli@tiscali.it
vitovitelli.blogspot.com