"We may be countertrending, but this year we have actually doubled our fennel crops by adding 15 hectares," reports Chistopher Bernardi from Bernardi Ortofrutta in Rimini. "We believe in this product a lot and our company is located near the processing facility. We have 110 hectares in total, used to grow various vegetables."
Transplant phase on March 14th, 2023. Operation carried out by hand due to the soil conditions. Notice the hoses.
All of Bernardi's fennel holds the Zero Residue certification. Transplants started a few days late due to the soil conditions. "We had to transplant by hand during the first few days, as we would not have had a good result with the mechanical harvesters, as the soil was too wet."
With the non-woven fabric laid on top of the plants, Bernardi aims at making up for the days lost. Harvesting will start in mid-May and continue until late June.
Chistopher Bernardi and Francesco Fabbri
The company also focuses a lot on irrigation. "We place a hose every two rows so as to obtain the best results possible when it comes to quality and yields. The management of irrigation and fertigation is fundamental and the various plots are equipped with probes. By crossing the data on water availability with the information that comes from the weather station, the software decided the irrigation shifts, which can be different even for different areas of the same crop."
Transplanted fields with non-woven fabric
Bernardi also sells its fennel to Germany, Belgium and Luxembourg. "We meet client demands when it comes to formats, anyway fixed-weight trays, 18-head punnets and 2 or 2.5 kg mini-packets are the most popular."
For further information:
Bernardi srl
Via San Martino
in Riparotta 5T
47922 Rimini
+39 0541 740436
[email protected]
www.ortofruttabernardi.it