With an average annual production of 500 to 600,000 tons, the traditional clementine grown in Italy still accounts for more than 70 percent of the country's total clementine growing area of approximately 30,000 hectares. Because of its geographical extent and potential, Calabria is the region with the largest surface, followed by Apulia and other areas in southern Italy, including the islands.
As the 2023/24 season draws to a close, the Calabrian agronomist Francesco Perri, a specialist in citrus fruits, takes stock of the situation. "These precious fruits, which have been and should be the backbone of the local economy of the areas of production, when harvested at the ideal time of ripening, without trying to magically extend their harvesting campaign beyond the physiological time, undoubtedly represent a must for consumers. They are also considered the benchmark for tasting all citrus fruits. At the same time, however, clementines confirmed poor economic results. The reasons for this are well known. The same happened in Spain with Clemenules, or in Apulia with the traditional Uva Italia, which used to be one of the most important sources of wealth for local growers, who are now replanting with much more profitable and recently introduced cultivars."
Perri adds: "Having worked in the field for several decades and having known the various growing areas, I can testify that, despite the benevolent weather that has delayed the deterioration compared to previous years, the results are far from encouraging, except a few lucky cases. It is necessary to consider the high rate of waste due to the sum of the low calibers and the considerable aesthetic damage to the fruit due to an aggressive and uncontrollable mite infestation that has never been seen before. To conclude, it is clear that tradition is not enough; it needs to be updated, and the inevitable changes need to be faced with intelligence and skill. If not, other competing countries will continue undisturbed on what is an obvious and rapidly growing path." (Pictured above is a fruit with visible damage from mites).
The expert explains that where there is a lack of innovation, the business system cannot 
function. "It is only through research projects, whether in citrus or in any other productive sector, that it is possible to obtain interesting new, and subsequently, flourishing results. This is what happened in Italy in 2017 through a public-private agreement between Crea-OFA in Acireale (Sicily) and O.P. Armonia in Battipaglia (Campania). At that time, we launched an exclusive research project aimed at the genetic improvement of clementines and the production of pigmented mandarin-like fruits."
(Photo on the side: Perrina fruit harvested on 15 January 2024).
This work has led to a first important result, which is the rehabilitation and evaluation of a new clementine, Perrina, after the surname of the grower, Francesco Perri, who is in charge of the coordination and supervision of the local activities.
(Pictured below: left, Perrina fruit as of 25 January 2024. On the right, a two-year-old Perrina clementine plant).
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"In a week," Perri continues, "we will finish harvesting the first planting at the Paloma farm in the countryside of Eboli (Salerno). This is a limited edition of about 80 tons that is marketed under Dolce Clementina, a premium brand in Italian supermarkets. New findings have been in the works. This concerns the three different rootstocks, the skin color and the taste profile, which have already been verified in the past at the request of a major Italian retail chain, which has long been interested in supplies. These data will be presented and discussed in a forthcoming technical-scientific publication and will allow us to proceed rapidly with our project, the protagonist of which is an Italian citrus fruit obtained by spontaneous mutation from the common Clementine."
For more information:
Dott. Agronomo Francesco Perri
Tel.: +39 338 4164800
Email: f.scoperri@libero.it