It may come as a surprise to many to learn that the avocado tree considered to be the oldest in Europe is not on the shores of the Mediterranean, but in Porrúa, a small parish belonging to the council of Llanes, in the Spanish region of Asturias. "This tree, which is now 118 years old, was planted in 1906 by a resident of Porrúa, who brought it from Mexico on his return to his home town and, in fact, it is one of the eight largest avocado trees in the world," says Andrés Ibarra, co-founder of Aguacastur.
"We associate avocados with tropical areas, but we must remember that it is a subtropical species native to Mexico, where it also grows in areas hit by frequent frosts, with temperatures of -1 to -3 °C."
"Our interest in avocado cultivation in Asturias led us to carry out an inventory along the Cantabrian coast, recording the number of avocado trees and their age, and we found thousands of trees aged between 15 and 70 years old, with surprising development and yields.
"We made a selection of the trees we found and studied them, and we discovered that they were extremely productive, with up to four blossoms a year (of these four blossoms, only one or at most two come to term, but it's still interesting and strange that it happens). Afterwards, we decided to buy some land and set up a plantation that attracted a lot of interest, and which would give rise to what is now Aguacastur," says Andrés.
"In Asturias, we are obtaining yields that are difficult to achieve in the south under the current conditions"
Today, Aguacastur is much more than an avocado production project on the shores of the Cantabrian Sea. Thanks to its experience and acquired knowledge about the crop, the company offers training and technical advice to anyone interested in starting or improving an avocado plantation in the north of Spain, from Pontevedra to the south of France.
"In Asturias, we have a very rich soil, with a percentage of organic matter higher than 5%, as well as very high atmospheric humidity values and very little water deficit. It's only of a more clayey nature than in Galicia, which has very rich sandy loam soils and slightly higher temperatures than the area of Cantabria, Asturias and the Basque Country."
"As for the weather, we certainly get cold spells. On our farm we have had three days of frosts with temperatures falling to -5 degrees Celsius, but with 98% humidity, so not a single leaf has burnt. However, just as there are cold snaps here, there are also heat waves in the south."
"In the southern area, where I am a technician in an agricultural cooperative, we have had heat waves like we've never experienced before, with up to 50 degrees Celsius in the sun, and we have seen avocados burning inside the tree tops, because they could not stand such temperatures."
"As far as yields are concerned, in the fourth year of life of our trees and the second year of production, we are harvesting 40 kilos per tree; yields that are difficult to achieve in trees of this age in La Axarquía under the current conditions."
"Companies from all over Europe are calling us to buy our fruit".
The north of Spain is looking like an increasingly interesting area for avocado cultivation. "In recent years, the south of Spain has been experiencing water shortage problems that have had a significant impact on avocado production, and we are seeing more and more interest from companies from the south for avocados in this area; both from producing companies and buyers, and in fact, not only from the south. There are companies from all over Europe calling us to buy our fruit."
"There are people who still don't quite believe it, but it is only a matter of time before avocado cultivation becomes a reality in the north of Spain."
For more information:
Aguacastur
Pol. Benjamín Prida, Nave 3, Santolaya de Cabranes, Asturias. Spain
Tel.: +34 635 150 758 / +34 600 703 651
[email protected]
https://aguacastur.es