Exportaciones de aguaymanto (PHYSALIS) peruano aumentan notablemente - Peruvian PHYSALIS exports increased notably

Foto de http://cde.2.trome.pe/ima/0/1/1/6/8/1168093.jpg

Las exportaciones peruanas de aguaymanto casi se duplicaron año con año en los meses hasta septiembre, alcanzando los frutos exóticos un total de 35 mercados. En un comunicado, la entidad pública Sierra y Selva Exportadora dijo que el valor de los envíos entre enero y septiembre alcanzó los US$ 2,4 millones, lo que representa un incremento de 82% desde US$ 1,3 millones.

Estados Unidos fue el principal mercado durante el período, recibiendo el 29% de las exportaciones, seguido por Holanda (22%), Alemania (14%), Japón (11%), Canadá (6%) y Corea del Sur (4%) . Sierra y Selva Exportadora destacó que el país andino exportó la fruta en su forma tanto fresca, como un producto seco, pulpa orgánica, en barra de caramelo, y mermelada orgánica.

Como parte del Programa Nacional Berry Peruano, la organización ha estado brindando asistencia técnica y asesoramiento a productores en nueve regiones – Cajamarca, Lambayeque, Huánuco, Áncash, Lima, Junín, Arequipa, Cusco y Moquegua. A través de cursos, talleres y visitas de campo, se dio información a los productores sobre el manejo agronómico y la certificación.

Fuente: www.portalfruticola.com

BETABEL (REMOLACHA): sus beneficios como alimento y su cultivo en México - BEET: its benefits as food and its cultivation in Mexico

Raíces de betabel o remolacha (Foto cortesía de https://www.quadratin.com.mx)

También conocido como remolacha y betarraga, el betabel (Beta vulgaris L.) es un tubérculo comestible de color púrpura intenso y que tiene forma de bulbo; prefiere los climas fríos para su desarrollo y en México puede cosecharse durante todo el año. De acuerdo con un comunicado, perteneciente a la familia de las amarantáceas, el betabel posee un sabor muy dulce que se aprovecha para la obtención de azúcar y su pulpa para colorantes. Esta hortaliza puede consumirse cruda o cocida, en jugos, licuados, ensaladas y postres. El color del betabel se debe a la betacianina, una sustancia que contribuye a la prevención del cáncer. Las propiedades medicinales de este tubérculo ayudan a combatir la hipertensión arterial, estreñimiento, enfermedades sanguíneas, debilidad en los huesos, obesidad, anemia, entre otros males. En el año 2015 se registró en México una producción de alrededor de 17,000 toneladas de betabel, cuyo mayor productor fue el estado de Puebla. Al respecto, es importante mencionar que este producto se exporta principalmente a Estados Unidos.

Fuente: https://www.quadratin.com.mx

Ingestible insecticides for spotted wing Drosophila control - Insecticidas ingeribles para el control de la Drosophila de alas manchadas

SWD on a strawberry fruit (http://whatcom.wsu.edu/ipm/swd/images/swd.jpg)

Bioassays tested insecticidal activity of Erythritol fro the nutritive sweetener, Truvia, and an insect growth regulator, Lufenuron, against life stages (eggs, larvae, pupae, adults) of Drosophila melanogaster (Meigen) and Drosophila suzukii (Matsumura), the spotted wing Drosophila (SWD). These compounds were chosen for their demonstrated acute toxicity to adult and larval Drosophila and potential use on organic fruit farms. D. melanogaster fed on standard Drosophila diet media moistened with water containing known concentrations of Erythritol. Likewise, SWD consumed standard diet media as well as thawed host fruit (blackberries and blueberries) treated with solutions of Erythritol, Lufenuron or both. 

During the first bioassay, Erythritol at lower concentrations between 0 and 500 mm (~61 000 ppm) in water and mixed with instant diet media increased adult survival from ~80% to 97% for D. melanogaster and SWD. However, from aqueous concentrations ranging from 1750 (~414 000 ppm) to 2000 mm (~244 000 ppm), Erythritol killed 100% of adult Drosophila in culture vials. One hundred per cent mortality for SWD and D. melanogaster occurred at ≥0.5 m (~61 000 ppm) Erythritol added to diet media or topically applied to host fruit. 

In a second bioassay, 0.013–1.000 ppm of aqueous Lufenuron, a chitin synthase inhibitor, when added to dry diet media prevented 90–99% of SWD from reaching the pupal stage. In another assay, ~67% of SWD eggs or neonates (early first instars) died inside blackberries pre-treated with (dipped in) a soapy solution of 10 ppm Lufenuron. Pre-treating blackberry fruit with an Erythritol–Lufenuron mixture reduced SWD brood survival by 99%. Likewise, during our last fruit-based bioassay, 98% of eggs and neonates died inside blueberries similarly pre-treated. During the last experiment, Lufenuron in diet media also rendered adult females sterile. Sterility, however, dissipated over 7 days once females began feeding on a Lufenuron-free diet media.

Source: Sampson, B. J., Werle, C. T., Stringer, S. J. and Adamczyk, J. J. (2016), Ingestible insecticides for spotted wing Drosophila control: a polyol, Erythritol, and an insect growth regulator, Lufenuron. J. Appl. Entomol.. doi:10.1111/jen.12350

New tasty blackberry and blueberry varieties from the USDA - Dos nuevas y sabrosas variedades de zarzamora y arándano del USDA

'Columbia Giant' blackberries (http://fruitgrowersnews.com/)

Agricultural Research Service (ARS) geneticist Chad Finn and his colleagues at the Horticultural Crops Research Unit in Corvallis, Oregon, developed two new berry varieties—a blueberry and a blackberry—that were recently released to the public.

Up until the early 1900s, blueberries were picked from the wild, and the bushes often did not survive when transplanted elsewhere. True domestication-involving propagation of the plant by the grower and plant breeding to improve desirable traits-was beyond reach until 1910. That's when USDA botanist Frederick Coville discovered that blueberry bushes require moist, acidic soil to thrive. In 1916, exactly a century ago, the first commercial cultivated crop of highbush blueberries was harvested.

That history is now enhanced by Baby Blues, a cultivar released in cooperation with the Oregon State University's Agricultural Experiment Station and the Washington State University's Agricultural Research Center. This new blueberry is making its debut during the 100th anniversary of the first cultivated blueberry crop to go to market.

"Baby Blues is a vigorous, high-yielding, small-fruited, machine-harvestable highbush blueberry with outstanding fruit quality. It's well-suited for those processing markets that require a small fruit size," says Finn. "Baby Blues should offer growers and processors an alternative to the low-yielding Rubel highbush blueberry, and it may thrive in milder areas where northern highbush blueberries are grown."

Finn also developed a new blackberry named Columbia Giant. This thornless, trailing blackberry cultivar came from the same breeding program as Baby Blues and was also released in cooperation with the Oregon State University's Agricultural Experiment Station.

"This cultivar is a high-quality, high-yielding, machine-harvestable blackberry with firm, sweet fruit that, when processed, is similar to or better in quality than fruit from the industry standards Marion and Black Diamond," says Finn. "Due to its extremely large size, however, Columbia Giant will most commonly be sold in the fresh market."

Columbia Giant is adaptable to areas where other trailing blackberries successfully grow.—By Sharon Durham, ARS Office of Communications.

Source: USDA ARS Online Magazine Two Tasty New Berries From ARS

Estados Unidos declara la erradicación de la polilla Lobesia botrana - US declares the erradication of L. botrana moth

Foto extraída de http://www.redagricola.com

La acción fue efectiva a partir del 18 de agosto. El Servicio de Inspección Sanitaria de Animales y Plantas (APHIS) ha hecho el anuncio histórico que los últimos condados que quedaban infectados ahora están libres de la polilla del racimo de la vid, también conocido como Lobesia botrana. APHIS ha determinado que la plaga ha sido erradicada de California y está levantando la cuarentena federal en 446 millas cuadradas de los condados de Napa y Sonoma, que han estado bajo la regulación desde junio de 2010.

APHIS y el Departamento de Alimentación y Agricultura de (CDFA) han realizado una amplia encuesta, control, y esfuerzos regulatorios durante más de tres años y no se encontró L. botrana (EGVM por sus siglas en inglés) en esta última área en cuarentena. Esto significa que Estados Unidos está libre de la plaga y que se puede reanudar el movimiento sin restricciones de uvas y otros productos hospedantes de estas áreas.

“Esta plaga invasora puso en riesgo uvas y frutas de hueso valoradas en más de US$ 5.7 mil millones y amenazó con cerrar los mercados de exportación valiosos para las uvas de EEUU en todo el mundo”, dijo el administrador de APHIS, Kevin Shea. “El programa de erradicación de EGVM emplea estrategias de colaboración que se pueden utilizar como un modelo para hacer frente a futuras incursiones de plagas; la industria, las autoridades estatales y locales, agricultores, científicos universitarios y los servicios de extensión todo invertido en la búsqueda y aplicación de las herramientas adecuadas para salvaguardar las uvas de California”.

En octubre de 2009, el APHIS confirmó la primera detección de la polilla del racimo de la vid en Estados Unidos en las principales zonas de producción de uva de California del Norte. En 2010, el APHIS tomó medidas reglamentarias y límites establecidos en cuarentena, detectando casi 101.000 polillas ese año. APHIS se asoció con CDFA y los condados afectados para trabajar estrechamente con la industria. El Servicio de Extensión Cooperativo de la Universidad de California, el Grupo de Trabajo Técnico EGVM y otras partes interesadas lucharon en la erradicación de esta plaga dentro de California.

Un total de 11 condados de California han sido puestos en cuarentena para EGVM desde que se detectó. El 3 de marzo de 2011, el APHIS declaró la erradicación la plaga del Condado de Lake. En 2012, el APHIS declaró la polilla erradicada de Fresno, Mendocino, Merced, San Joaquín, Solano, Nevada, Santa Clara, y Santa Cruz.

Fuente: http://www.portalfruticola.com

New WHITE GRAPE variety would allow great reductions of pesticide applications - Nueva variedad de UVA BLANCA permitiría grandes reducciones de las aplicaciones de pesticidas

Itasca grape clusters weigh from 95 to 145 grams, can be winged or shouldered and show a golden hue at harvest (Courtesy John Thull).

The University of Minnesota has announced its newest cold-hardy wine grape variety, and it’s one for which north country grape growers have been waiting. Called the Itasca for the lake in northern Minnesota identified as the source of the Mississippi River, the white grape has a lower acidity than other cold-hardy varieties and high sugar, potentially making it an ideal candidate for a dry white wine. The variety also shows resistance to downy and powdery mildew, as well as phylloxera, and it is hardy to USDA’s Plant Hardiness Zone 4.

Provenance

The Itasca has been in development since 2002. Originally tagged as MN 1285, it was created from a cross pollination of Frontenac Gris and MN 1234, a Seyval Blanc offspring known for its resistance to powdery mildew. Two of its ancestors are accessions of Vitis riparia, from which it acquired its high sugar — and its cold-hardiness.

In 2014, the winter of the Polar Vortex, Frontenac Gris had a 25 percent bud survival rate, while Itasca endured the same weather and emerged with 65 percent primary bud survival, said Matt Clark, a University of Minnesota assistant professor and grape breeder.

Though not certified yet, the variety has been submitted to the Clean Plant Center Northwest in Prosser, Washington. To date, they’ve done a few performance evaluations with some growers but no large-scale vineyard or winery trials.

The university has licensed three nurseries to sell its new variety for the 2017 season: Winterhaven Vineyard and Nursery in Janesville, Minnesota; Double A Vineyards in Fredonia, New York; and Northeastern Vine Supply in West Pawlet, Vermont. Knight Hollow Nursery of Middleton, Wisconsin, uses a tissue culture for micropropagation.

Grower friendly

Vines can be vigorous, depending on the soil. The breeders have found vine spacing should be 6 feet apart when organic matter is 2.5 percent or less and 8 feet apart for 3 percent or more. “Irrigation is important for establishment,” Clark said. Its growth habit is open and manageable. Shoots can either grow upright or procumbent. “Fruit exposure is good with minor adjustments,” he said.

The university vines hang on high-wire, double cordon systems. Clark said he thinks they can be trained to vertical shoot positioning, though it’s not been tested yet. Kicker shoots on the trunk can reduce vine growth, and should be pruned off or back to short spurs, he said.

Clark said they don’t have very good data on when bud break occurs. “It didn’t seem to be as early as Marquette, but may be in the same time frame as Frontenac,” he said. The fruit ripens earlier than Frontenac, by mid- to late September. Cluster structure is moderately compact, weighing in at 95 to 145 grams, is cylindrical and can be  shouldered or winged. Berries take on a golden hue when ripe, with some clusters showing one or two pronounced rosy berries. The fruit has flavors of pear, gooseberries, honeydew melon and star fruit.

The juice

So far, the university has only produced about eight gallons of wine this year, fermented in glass or plastic. Grape berries were harvested, destemmed and pressed in one day and inoculated with yeast on the second day to dry, Clark said. With a pH of 3.05 to 3.35, Itasca has 30 percent less acid than Minnesota’s other cold-hardy varieties, a gift from its European parents. “It has lots of French in its background,” Clark said. He said they try to pick the grapes at 26 Brix, but depending on where they are planted, the variety can deliver up to 28 Brix.

The titratable acidity (TA) of Itasca’s juice is much lower than the other Minnesota cold-hardy varieties, such as Frontenac, which sports 15 to 16 grams per liter. “It has titratible acidity in the 9 to 10 grams per liter range, putting it more in line with other vinifera varietal dry table wines like Sauvignon Blanc or even Riesling,” said Bryan Forbes, the University of Minnesota’s cold-hardy wine grape breeding program interim winemaker.

Itasca can make a crisp, white wine but it is also very versatile, Forbes said. Using malolactic fermentation, for example, a winemaker could make a wine similar to that of a typical Chardonnay, with a richer, potentially buttery character.

It is not hyper-aromatic like a Muscat nor is it bracing on the tongue. “It’s pretty zippy but it is not an assault,” he said. Clark deferred to Forbes for a more expert opinion, but allowed the wine would do best on its own. “It would also be nice to blend with high-acid wines to improve mouth feel and flavor,” he said.

Source: Dave Weinstock (http://www.goodfruit.com)

'Arctic Fuji', the next GMO APPLE - 'Arctic Fuji', la próxima MANZANA OGM

'Arctic Fuji' apple  (Courtesy Okanagan Specialty Fruits)

After 20 years of development, a Canadian company is expecting its first commercial crop of genetically modified apples in 2016 while awaiting approval to forge ahead with its third and latest variety, 'Arctic Fuji'. Okanagan Specialty Fruits plans to harvest and pack about 50 bins of Arctic Golden Delicious apples and plant its first Arctic Granny Smith apples this year. The Summerland, British Columbia, company develops and produces apples genetically modified to not turn brown when sliced.

Specialty Fruits received approval for Arctic Golden and Arctic Granny apples from food and plant health agencies in both countries early in 2015 and planted about 15 acres of Goldens in Washington, said Neal Carter, company president and founder. Those trees will yield a small crop this fall, while the company plans to plant significantly more acreage of both varieties in 2016, mostly in Washington, with increasing quantities in the following years in other states and Canada.

The company will test market the first apples from this year in a few select stores, but as it ramps up production, it will distribute to a variety of locations in both the U.S. and Canada, Carter said. Carter declined to say which growers, packers or retailers will be working with Arctic apples. At the same time, the firm expects U.S. approval sometime this year of its latest variety, the Arctic Fuji, with Canadian approval to follow within another year.

Arctic Fuji

Specialty Fruits applied for U.S. deregulation for the Fuji on Dec. 31, 2015, in the form of an extension to the documents of previously approved varieties. The process should move faster than the original application, filed with the U.S. authorities in 2010 and the year after in Canada. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service have regulatory oversight of biotechnology in America. In Canada, the two agencies involved are Health Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.

Once approvals are in place, the company may propagate and market the apples as if there was nothing different about them. “What that approval means is it’s treated like any other apple variety,” Carter said. At its laboratory in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Specialty Fruits alters the DNA of apples to silence an enzyme that causes apple flesh to brown when exposed to oxygen, such as when it’s sliced or bitten. Specialty Fruits plans to apply for approval for an Arctic Gala by the end of 2017, with other varieties to follow. The company also is seeking agreements to grow and market its Arctic apples in other countries, a lengthy process just as it is in North America. “The regulatory thing is quite onerous no matter where you are in the world,” Carter said.

In Mexico, the company is seeking a food safety assessment to ship Arctic apples in the country and slice them there, he said, while a group of Australians is discussing growing the apples with the company’s representatives. The company both plants its own orchards and contracts with outside growers. Either way, and no matter where the trees are planted, Okanagan Specialty Fruits will own the trees and apples, unlike the royalty arrangements that usually accompany club varieties, Carter said. Such a structure will give Specialty Fruits more control to prevent cross-pollination and other co-mingling of conventional fruit, one of the biggest objections to the controversial genetic techniques, Carter said.

So far, the company has contracted with two large, well-established growers, one in Washington, one in the Eastern U.S. Carter declined to specify the locations. Okanagan Specialty Fruits was purchased in April 2015 by Intrexon Corp., a biotechnology company based in Germantown, Maryland.

Source: Ross Courtney (http://www.goodfruit.com)

Dry weather speeds BLUEBERRY harvest - El tiempo seco acelera la cosecha de ARÁNDANO

Rabbiteye blueberries make up 80 to 90 percent of the Mississippi’s blueberry crop. Recent dry weather has made harvesting easier than normal. (Photo by MSU Extension Service/File)

The first half of June is usually a busy time for blueberry growers in Mississippi, and this year is no different, as recent dry conditions have expedited the crop’s harvest. A few scattered small-market “U-Picks” can be found in north and central portions of the state, but most of the commercial activity is happening south of Interstate 20, where rain has been in short supply lately. Wayne County boasts the highest blueberry production in the state. 

“The dry weather has accelerated the ripening but also made harvest easier than normal,” said Eric Stafne, an associate Extension and research professor in fruit crops with the Mississippi State University Extension Service and the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station in Poplarville. “It’s been smooth sailing this year with no major worries about split berries or disease issues.” Amy Phelps, a Pearl River County grower, has grown blueberries commercially in the past but is operating a U-Pick farm this year after a tornado damaged some of her property in February. Despite the setback, she said this year’s crop was one of her best in 16 years.“Whenever the field is stressed by Mother Nature, whatever follows is always big,” Phelps said. “It’s almost like the field is expressing its desire to survive. What we have out there right now is beautiful, and we’ve had ideal picking conditions.”

The Mississippi Agricultural Statistics Service reported 89 percent of the blueberry crop is in good to excellent condition for the week ending May 29. Mandy McCormick grows organic blueberries commercially and opens a U-Pick to the public June 1 each year in Poplarville. She said prices for berries have typically run around $25 to $32 for a 9.5-pound flat, with little change this year. “We can’t pick wet berries because we don’t have a harvester and pick by hand,” she said, “so we welcome all the sunshine we’re getting.” Rabbiteye varieties, which make up 80 to 90 percent of the state’s crop, are generally ready for harvest in late May. The remaining crop mostly consists of Southern highbush varieties, which tend to produce in late April and early May. Rain at the end of this period may have stopped the Southern highbush harvest season prematurely, Stafne said.   

“The rabbiteyes started around May 20, and volumes are increasing at this point,” he said. “We’ll be in the peak of it in mid-June, then we’ll start going into later varieties with lesser volumes in terms of commercial production.” Blueberry production typically continues into July, depending on market demand. Each year, Mississippi has anywhere from 2,000 to 2,500 acres of commercial blueberries. That number was closer to 2,500 acres in recent years, but market conditions are stalling, causing a few growers to switch to other opportunities, Stafne said. “A lot of our production is in the processed market, which means primarily frozen berries. Right now there is a backlog of freezer stock nationwide,” he said. “It’s been difficult to sell that product, so some growers have moved out of the business, and we’re starting to see some slight attrition. But these markets can change quickly. There is always interest from new growers.”

Growers continue to watch for fungi and pests that have compromised crop conditions in the last five years. Exobasidium, a fungal disease found mostly in the Southeast, can be problematic if left untreated. Spotted-wing drosophila fruit flies attack healthy, ripe fruit. Stafne said the pests are relatively new to Mississippi and have been a challenge to control. “We’re just now starting to get into the time period where these fruit flies become a real problem,” he said. “Early varieties miss them for the most part because populations have not yet built up and any that are there are controlled as long as growers are spraying. Timely fungicide sprayings have also limited damage from exobasidium. Growers who have had major problems didn’t treat for the disease.”

Source: Robert Nathan Gregory. Mississippi State University (http://extension.msstate.edu)

Perú es el tercer país exportador de ARÁNDANO en Sudamérica - Peru is the third largest BLUEBERRY exporting country in South America

La demanda se incrementa en la región

• 

  INTERNET/Medios

El arándano ocupa el primer lugar en el grupo de las denominadas superfrutas y el Perú es uno de los principales países exportadores de este recurso en Sudamérica, señaló el copresidente del Primer Consejo Binacional del Arándano entre Estados Unidos y el Perú (USPBC, por sus siglas en inglés), Miguel Bentín.

Indicó que su producción se inició en el 2010 y las exportaciones empezaron al cierre del 2013. 

"Esta baya es uno de los productos más saludables que existe en la actualidad por su gran valor nutricional y porque ofrece muchos beneficios, pues tiene las mayores propiedades antioxidantes del planeta", dijo.

 

En la actualidad, anotó, la producción de arándanos creció favorablemente a pesar de las condiciones climáticas que se presentaron por el Fenómeno El Niño (FEN). 

Entre las provincias del país y la zona norte de Lima hay 2,400 hectáreas concentradas en la costa para la producción de la superfruta, explicó Bentín.

 

"Las primeras cosechas de arándanos se iniciaron alrededor del 2010 y la producción exportable empieza a tener notoriedad a fines del 2013, año en el que se exportaron las primeras 1,500 toneladas. En el 2014 se exportaron alrededor de 3,000 toneladas", comentó al suplemento Económika del Diario Oficial El Peruano.

 

Desempeño 

En los primeros tres meses del presente año la producción de arándanos fue de 3,600 toneladas, lo que implica un crecimiento de cuatro veces más en comparación con similar período del año anterior. 

 

"Las curvas de producción de la temporada experimentaron un retraso por el cambio de temperatura registrado en estos meses, pero el volumen de producción no ha cambiado", manifestó.  

 

De enero a diciembre del año pasado se produjeron 10,300 toneladas de arándanos, solo entre junio y diciembre la producción fue de 9,000 toneladas, muy concentrada en noviembre y diciembre, anunció Bentín, quien también es presidente de la Asociación de Productores de Arándanos (Proarándanos). 

 

"Las condiciones en la costa peruana son buenas para la producción de arándanos durante una gran parte del año, especialmente para las variedades específicas del fruto que han sido comprobadas; además, presenta un espacio adecuado para nuevas variedades que se están ensayando", expresó.

 

Resaltó a la región La Libertad, que representa el 90% de la producción total nacional por las extensiones disponibles y por la envergadura de las empresas, así como por los proyectos que se desarrollan en el lugar. 

 

En el Perú, hay cerca de 2,400 hectáreas, y asociadas a Proarándanos alrededor de 2,200 hectáreas. Además, La Libertad posee entre 1,800 y 1,900 hectáreas.

  

Exportación 

El Perú ocupa el tercer lugar como país exportador de arándanos en América del Sur con 125,000 toneladas vendidas, según Bentín. 

 

"El desarrollo de esta actividad fue impulsada por el sector privado, que trabaja junto con el Servicio Nacional de Sanidad Agraria (Senasa) y el Ministerio de Agricultura y Riego (Minagri) para la apertura del mercado y los trabajos binacionales", dijo el ejecutivo. 

 

Agregó que la demanda de arándanos en el mercado exterior está en crecimiento, principalmente en Japón, Corea del Sur y China, mercados a los que aún no se accede. 

 

El ingreso a la plaza china está en un proceso inicial, es creciente y se desarrolla en países del sudeste asiático y Hong Kong. “La idea es liberar los accesos de estos mercados para poder capitalizar sobre el crecimiento de la demanda que hay en esas naciones”, comentó. 

 

Destacó las solicitudes del Senasa a la Administración General de Calidad, Supervisión Inspección y Cuarentena, (Aqsiq) se presentaron para iniciar el proceso de inserción de arándanos del Perú en China.

 

Estratégico 

El funcionario resaltó que Estados Unidos se posiciona como un mercado estratégico para los arándanos peruanos debido a que el consumo per cápita es de dos libras (alrededor de un kilogramo) anuales. 

 

Asimismo, manifestó que el consumo de arándanos en el mundo continúa creciendo, mientras que en el Perú es aún muy bajo por ser un producto desconocido y porque no se tiene costumbre de consumirlo. 

 

“La preferencia de los consumidores peruanos por el arándano está en aumento, aunque todavía es bajo y se espera un mayor interés de las personas por sus beneficios”, agregó Bentín.

 

Expectativa

El funcionario dijo que se prevé que la producción de arándanos tenga un repunte en el período octubre-noviembre de este año. 

"Entre enero y diciembre se sobrepasarían las 20,000 toneladas; dicha cifra se explica por la cantidad de extensión plantada. Además, presenta un ritmo de crecimiento alto porque las plantaciones son muy jóvenes", explicó.

 

Agregó que la producción fluctuaría entre 20,000 y 25,000 toneladas de arándanos. Además, de la proyección que la producción de arándanos supere el 100% este año, teniendo en cuenta que en el 2015 se incrementó 227%.

 

Cabe destacar que la demanda de arándanos en el 2015 en Estados Unidos fue de 70%. 

 

Cooperación bilateral

La creación del USPBC tiene como objetivo fomentar la cooperación, el comercio bilateral y la inversión del sector agro exportador de arándanos. 

 

"Es una iniciativa del empresariado privado de ambos países, en sinergia con los acuerdos de los gobiernos peruanos y norteamericanos que permitirá obtener los permisos necesarios para crear nuevas oportunidades de acceso a los mercados", explicó Bentín.

 

Agregó que uno de los efectos de esta estrategia es que se generará un interés común en el que Estados Unidos estará abastecido de arándanos en la época en la que no tiene producción. 

 

También dijo que mejorará las condiciones de acceso, se facilitará la inclusión de más vías de entrada al mercado estadounidense a menor costo y con un producto que tenga las mejores condiciones posibles.

Fuente: Marisol Valero (http://www.andina.com.pe)

Natural TRANSGENESIS between the fungi kingdom and the animal kingdom? - TRANSGÉNESIS natural entre el reino de los hongos y el reino animal?

Photo: https://s3.amazonaws.com/classconnection/877/flashcards/6149877/jpg/picture130-148F7D2ED1348F52A8D.jpg

Plant-parasitic nematodes and microfungi inhabit many of the same ecological habitats and interact in almost every conceivable way. Nematodes can feed on fungi, and conversely fungi can use nematodes as a food source. Fungi have been widely studied as biological controls of plant-parasitic nematodes. Fungi can attract or repel nematodes, and nematodes and fungi can interact to either directly or indirectly increase or even decrease plant disease. Nematodes can also feed on fungi and act as biological controls of plant disease. Plant-parasitic nematodes likely obtained the cell wall-degrading enzymes necessary to successfully feed on plants from fungi through horizontal gene transfer. Finally, plant-parasitic nematodes can interact with fungal pathogens or even nonpathogenic or weakly pathogenic fungi to increase plant disease.

Source: James LaMondia and Patricia Timper. 2016. In: Biology of Microfungi. Li, De-Wei (Ed.). http://link.springer.com/

Apreciaciones sobre las tendencias del consumo de FRUTAS en Uruguay - FRUIT consumption trends in Uruguay

Dole Food Company fue uno de los 2.800 expositores que participó de Fruit Logistica 2016, la mayor feria internacional de frutas y verduras, que se realiza todos los años en Berlín. En un stand concurrido, con muchas frutas, colores y licuados, Café & Negocios dialogó con el director de Proexur Dole, Pedro de Lisa, y el director de Marketing de Dole Food Company, Xavier Roussel, sobre las características del mercado uruguayo –donde trabajan desde hace diez años– y además adelantaron algunas estrategias internacionales. 

¿Cuáles son las perspectivas de Dole para el mercado uruguayo en 2016? 

PD: En el mercado uruguayo estamos ya hace casi diez años y hasta ahora no hemos parado de crecer. Creo que fundamentalmente está basado en la calidad de los productos. 

Creemos que cada vez más el consumidor busca un producto que tenga un respaldo de marca para tener la confianza suficiente en el producto y poder consumirlo sabiendo que no está contaminado y que está con certificaciones de calidad suficientes.

¿Cuáles son los principales productos que se importan para Uruguay?

PD: Principalmente la banana y la piña de Ecuador. La banana si bien es un producto conocido desde hace muchos años, sigue creciendo en el mercado de Uruguay. Pero la piña, que es un producto mucho más nuevo, tiene un crecimiento mucho más fuerte. Estamos asombrados con la tasa de crecimiento que está teniendo. 

¿Cuánto creció en los últimos años?

PD: Empezamos hace seis o siete años a probar con un contenedor y con dudas y tuvimos la sorpresa de que el mercado nos demanda cada vez más. Cada año hacemos un programa con un 20% o 30% más de volumen que el año anterior y siempre nos quedamos cortos. También importamos kiwi de Italia y de Chile, cerezas de Chile. Hay una cantidad de productos que se importan. Pero creo que esos son los más destacados.

¿El kiwi es una fruta que antes no se consumía en Uruguay pero ahora está instalada?

PD: Sí, el kiwi se puede considerar como un mercado maduro. Ya tiene su consumo. No es una fruta que esté creciendo, como puede ser la piña o la palta, que es otro producto que ha tenido un crecimiento enorme en Uruguay. La gente va aprendiendo cómo consumirla. 

¿El mercado uruguayo es conservador o está abierto a probar frutas nuevas?

PD: Está cada vez más abierto. Hay una tendencia muy marcada en el mundo, al cual Uruguay no escapa. Se trata de la tendencia a consumir más frutas y hortalizas y a consumir más sano, y también a vincular la alimentación saludable con la salud, la prevención de patologías y retarda el envejecimiento. 

A nivel internacional, ¿en qué lugares tiene más presencia Dole? 

XR: Tenemos un papel en mercados en desarrollo, pero crecemos sobre todo en donde estamos más establecidos. En banana el mercado norteamericano por demografía crece un 2% anual. 

Fuente: Magdalena Cabrera (http://www.elobservador.com.uy)

Fresh APPLES and marathon, a healthy combination - MANZANAS frescas y maratón, una combinación saludable

A fruit producer company becomes the exclusive apple provider of the Boston Marathon, and more than 40,000 apples prepare to make their Boston debut.

The Boston Athletic Association (B.A.A.) today proudly announced the beginning of a multiple-year sponsorship agreement with Washington-based Rainier Fruit Company, making Rainier Apples the official and exclusive apples of the Boston Marathon.

Now in its 128th year, Rainier Fruit is one of the United States’ most prominent growers of apples, pears, cherries, and organic blueberries and will provide an array of apples for Boston Marathon runners before the event in the Athletes’ Village, and in the finish area of the race on Boylston Street. Beyond race day, and in retailers around the United States, Rainier Apple packaging will be adorned with the Boston Marathon logo and designation as the “Official Apple of the Boston Marathon”.

“As a leading grower of both conventional and organic apples, pears, cherries and blueberries, we have been in business for 128 years and it makes perfect sense for us to sponsor a legacy event like the oldest, most prestigious running event in the country, if not the world, The Boston Marathon,” remarked Mark Zirkle, President of Rainier Fruit.

In addition to being served before and after the race for Boston Marathoners, Rainier will provide apples to all volunteers working in the finish area on race day, and to thousands of fans and spectators in the Family Meeting Area, also in Boston. In total, more than 40,000 apples will make their way to Boston Marathon runners and their fans on Patriots’ Day.

Source: http://www.baa.org/

CRANBERRY resistance to dodder parasitism: induced chemical defenses and consequences - Resistencia del ARÁNDANO ROJO al parasitismo de la cuscuta: defensas químicas inducidas y consecuencias

Photo from http://ww1.prweb.com/prfiles/2010/11/01/258326/doddercranberryclose2.jpg

Parasitic plants are common in many ecosystems, where they can structure community interactions and cause major economic damage. For example, parasitic dodder (Cuscuta spp.) can cause up to 80–100 % yield loss in heavily infested cranberry (Vaccinium macrocarpon) patches. Despite their ecological and economic importance, remarkably little is known about how parasitic plants affect, or are affected by, host chemistry. 

To examine chemically-mediated interactions between dodder and its cranberry host, a team of biologists from the US conducted a greenhouse experiment asking whether: (1) dodder performance varies with cranberry cultivar; (2) cultivars differ in levels of phytohormones, volatiles, or phenolics, and whether such variation correlates with dodder parasitism; (3) dodder parasitism induced changes in phytohormones, volatiles, or phenolics, and whether the level of inducible response varied among cultivars. Five cranberry cultivars were used to assess host attractiveness to dodder and dodder performance. 

Dodder performance did not differ across cultivars, but there were marginally significant differences in host attractiveness to dodder, with fewer dodder attaching to Early Black than to any other cultivar. Dodder parasitism induced higher levels of salicylic acid (SA) across cultivars. Cultivars differed in overall levels of flavonols and volatile profiles, but not phenolic acids or proanthocyanidins, and dodder attachment induced changes in several flavonols and volatiles. While cultivars differed slightly in resistance to dodder attachment, no evidence of chemical defenses that mediate these interactions wasfound. However, induction of several defenses indicates that parasitism alters traits that could influence subsequent interactions with other species, thus shaping community dynamics.

Source: Muvari Connie Tjiurutue , Hilary A. Sandler, Monica F. Kersch-Becker, Nina Theis, Lynn A. Adler. 2016. Journal of Chemical Ecology (http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10886-016-0671-5)

Winter pruning of cankers can help to reduce bacterial spot in PEACHES and NECTARINES - La poda invernal de cancros puede ayudar a reducir la mancha bacteriana en DURAZNOS y NECTARINAS

Bacterial spot symptoms typically appear about three weeks after petal fall. Early-season fruit lesions may extend all the way to the pit. After pit hardening, bacterial spot causes shallower lesions that may coalesce and cause the skin to crack. (Courtesy Sarah Bardsley Capasso)

The bane of peach and nectarine growers in the eastern United States, bacterial spot can lead to significant and sometimes total fruit loss, especially during the wet and warm conditions that the disease-causing bacteria favor. Growers can, however, fight back with a management program that incorporates the active winter pruning of twig cankers, which can harbor large concentrations of the bacteria, called Xanthomonas arboricola pv. pruni (or Xap).

By removing the cankers, growers can significantly reduce the amount of bacteria — called the inoculum — that would otherwise thrive and spread throughout the tree and to adjacent trees during the following spring. To remove the cankers, orchard workers first have to be able to recognize them, and unfortunately that is no easy task, said Sarah Bardsley Capasso, who has been working on the disease as a graduate student in the Department of Plant Pathology and Environmental Microbiology at Pennsylvania State University.

“People who have been growing trees for 25 to 30 years have issues with identifying cankers,” Capasso said. That’s why the Penn State Fruit Research and Extension Center has held workshops on distinguishing between healthy wood and cankers. Usually, she said, workers first notice cankers in the spring because, unlike healthy portions of branches, they don’t bear any leaves. Cankers will also look water-soaked, although they aren’t actually wet.

These darker, blacker sections, which are often at the tips of branches, enlarge as they age and, about three weeks after petal fall, may begin to cause the bark to crack and take on a slightly sunken appearance. “What we think happens is that the bacteria originally enter the tree through the leaves and move through the leaves and underneath the bark where cankers form and where the bacteria overwinter,” she said. “Come spring, we’ll often see a lot of bacterial spot symptoms on fruit and leaves right around the cankers.”

The symptoms of bacterial spot on fruit are similar to those of peach scab, which is a fungal disease. On leaves, both copper injury and nitrogen deficiency look similar to bacterial spot. Distinguishing features of bacterial spot on leaves include angular-shaped lesions (rather than round) that are often surrounded by a yellow halo. As the season progresses, bacterial spot lesions may fall out of the leaf, leaving behind holes. (Courtesy Sarah Bardsley Capasso)

Although pruning of cankers can occur any time of the year, winter is opportune because much of the bacteria are holed up in the cankers at the same time that orchard workers are available to take on the labor-intensive chore of scouting for cankers tree by tree. For removal, Capasso recommends cutting beyond the canker and a bit into the healthy wood. “A good rule of thumb would be about 6 inches beyond, if it can be spared, because the bacteria are going to be invading the healthy tissue without visible symptoms initially.”

Once severed, the cankers should be removed from the orchard. “Just take them to the burn pile and get rid of them that way,” she said. “If you put them in a dumpster or pile them up, you’re not really killing the bacteria.” Even the most diligent canker-removal program, however, will not completely eliminate Xap.

Cankers can be difficult to identify in the winter, but a telltale characteristic is their darker, cracked and sunken bark. Workers should snip off the cankers, plus another 6 inches of healthy wood, and then remove the trimmings from the orchard. (Courtesy Sarah Bardsley Capasso)

For the best results, Capasso recommended a comprehensive management program, which includes:

—Locating new orchards in well-draining soils and avoiding low spots to lessen the wet conditions Xap favors. “Even small amounts of standing water in an orchard will become a big issue with bacterial spot,” she said.

—Planting cultivars that are less susceptible to the disease. “Remember that no cultivar is completely resistant to bacterial spot, so when the weather is wet and warm, for instance, even the most resistant cultivars may get some symptoms,” she said.

—Reducing tree stress by removing weeds, especially high weeds.

—Pruning trees to increase airflow within the canopy. This will help to keep leaves dry. “The faster you can dry the leaves, the less time you are going to allow for the bacteria to get into the tree,” she said.

—Spraying with copper, which is a proven treatment for bacterial spot, but combining it with other chemicals.

Field tests at Penn State showed success with copper alternated either with the biofungicide Serenade Optimum or with the phosphorus acid Rampart, or with copper mixed with hydrated lime. These combinations reduced the phytotoxicity side effect that occurs with copper, and also helped to prevent the bacteria from developing resistance to copper.

Although rotations of copper and the antibiotic oxytetracycline are commonly used in orchards, the field tests showed oxytetracycline didn’t work as well as the copper programs under the strong disease pressure in southern Pennsylvania. She cautioned that such field tests are site- and weather-specific, so growers may have different results with copper combinations.

Growers may not be able to have totally Xap-free peach and nectarine orchards, but Capasso reiterated that they should be able to greatly reduce the impact of bacterial spot if they follow a management strategy that includes removal of cankers. “Overwintering cankers are large sources of inoculum. If you get rid of them, you will get rid of a lot of bacteria and will reduce the initial amount of inoculum in spring and the initial disease severity.”

Source: Leslie Mertz (http://www.goodfruit.com)

Desert beetle, cactus, and pitcher plant inspire scientists to extract WATER from thin air - Escarabajo del desierto, cactus y la planta de jarras inspiran a los científicos para extraer AGUA del aire

Photo credit: Harvard SEAS

Scientists have for long wondered how the desert beetle, cactus plant, and pitcher plants survive in hot deserts with no ready source of water – until they found the Namib desert beetle and desert plants have a way of extracting water from thin air according to a study published in the journal Nature. This study was carried out by researchers from the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) and the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University after drawing inspiration from the desert beetle and plants to pull water from the atmosphere, most especially since the Earth is becoming drier.

“Everybody is excited about bioinspired materials research,” said Joanna Aizenberg, the Amy Smith Berylson Professor of Materials Science at SEAS and core faculty member of the Wyss Institute. “However, so far, we tend to mimic one inspirational natural system at a time. Our research shows that a complex bio-inspired approach, in which we marry multiple biological species to come up with non-trivial designs for highly efficient materials with unprecedented properties, is a new, promising direction in biomimetics,” Aizenberg added.

The researchers found that desert beetles utilized their bumpy shell to harvest water droplets from the air, while cactus plant used its asymmetric structure to do the same, and the pitcher plant deployed its slippery surface to obtain water from the atmosphere when it is cool in the night. The researchers combined this knowledge with the Slippery Liquid-infused Porous Surfaces technology (SLIPS) that was developed in Aizenberg’s laboratory to collect water droplets from the air.

Philseok Kim, co-founder and vice president of technology at SLIPS Technologies, a spin-off of SEAS, noted that industrial heat exchangers would benefit greatly from the skill generated by this research. He stated that thermal power plants depend on condensers in order to speedily convert steam into liquid water, adding that this latest research speed up that process and improve overall energy efficiency when operated at a higher temperature.

For the desert beetle, the researchers analyzed the hybrid chemistry of its bumps which has a hydrophilic top with hydrophobic surrounding to determine how it attracted water, but then the convex bumps was found to play a role in harvesting water from the air. “We experimentally found that the geometry of bumps alone could facilitate condensation,” said Kyoo-Chul Park, a postdoctoral researcher and the first author of the paper.

The bump shape was optimized via modeling combined with the asymmetry of cactus spines and the smooth surface of pitcher plants, providing a basis to design a material that can collect and transport a greater volume of water in a short time compared to other surfaces. “This research is an exciting first step towards developing a passive system that can efficiently collect water and guide it to a reservoir,” said Kim.

Source:  Charles I. Omedo (http://www.i4u.com)

A year in the lives of smallholder families: Insights from Mozambique, Tanzania, and Pakistan. Un día en la vida de pequeños agricultores familiares

Join CGAP for an event on February 25 to learn and discuss the results of a year-long financial diaries study with smallholder households.

How do the estimated 500 million smallholder households worldwide manage their money and what kind of financial services would better serve this important group?

Until now, very little was known about how financial services could effectively respond to the varied needs of smallholder families around the world. In CGAP's year-long financial diaries study, researchers tracked the financial lives of 270 total smallholder households in Mozambique, Pakistan and Tanzania and came away with unique insights into how these families manage their income, plan for expenses and cope with the unpredictable nature of lives rooted in agriculture.

It is the first time the financial diaries methodology has been used to research the financial lives of smallholders.

Join CGAP on February 25 for an event featuring a panel of experts who will highlight key findings from the Smallholder Diaries and discuss opportunities to design and improve financial solutions for smallholder households.

Speakers:

Jamie Anderson, Financial Sector Specialist, CGAP
Daryl Collins, Managing Director, Bankable Frontier Associates
Wajiha Ahmed, Senior Associate, Bankable Frontier Associates
Henriqueta Hunguana, CEO, ICC Mozambique
Mwombeki Baregu, Head of Agriculture and Rural Finance, Financial Sector Deepening Trust Tanzania
Raheel Rasool, Deputy Director, Development Finance Support Department, State Bank of Pakistan

Event Details:
Date: February 25, 2016
Time: 10 AM - 12 PM EST
Location: World Bank "J" Building
Address: 701 18th Street, NW
Room: 1-050
Washington, DC

For more information visit, http://www.cgap.org/events/year-lives-smallholder-families

- See more at: http://agriprofocus.com/post/56b6321ca93f2577bb3a886e#sthash.19hyYBqf.dpuf

Glyphosate most widely and heavily used HERBICIDE ever - Glifosato el HERBICIDA más difundido y utilizado en el mundo en toda la historia

Photo source: http://i.dailymail.co.uk

This was according to the recently published research paper, ‘Trends in glyphosate herbicide use in the United States and Globally’ by Dr Charles Benbrook, a research professor at Washington State University. US-based non-profit environmental research organisation Environmental Working Group (EWG) said that 8,6 billion kilograms of glyphosate had been used globally to date following its introduction by Monsanto in 1974.

Global glyphosate use increased almost 15-fold after genetically modified and glyphosate-tolerant maize, soybean and cotton, also developed by Monsanto, were introduced in 1996. “The dramatic and rapid growth in overall use of glyphosate will likely contribute to a host of adverse environmental and public health consequences,” said Benbrook. The EWG said that in 2015 “17 of the world’s top cancer researchers voted unanimously to elevate glyphosate’s cancer profile on behalf of the World Health Organisation”.

“After the panel of experts reviewed all of the publicly available research, the WHO’s International Agency for Research on Cancer classified the weed-killer as ‘probably carcinogenic to humans’,” the EWG said. On its company blog, Monsanto responded to Benbrook’s paper by writing that he “omits important context and significantly misrepresents the safety of glyphosate-based herbicides”.

Monsanto also responded that glyphosate safety was supported by one of the most extensive worldwide human health, crop residue and environmental databases ever compiled on an agricultural chemical product. “In evaluations spanning four decades, the overwhelming conclusion of experts worldwide has been that glyphosate, when used according to label directions, does not present an unreasonable risk of adverse effects to humans, wildlife or the environment. Indeed, the overall safety profile has contributed to the increased adoption of glyphosate-based herbicides around the world,” Monsanto said.

Source: Lloyd Phillips (http://farmersweekly.co.za)

Full paper:  http://oscar.caxtonmagsapps.co.za/img/fwf201629121224Trends_in_glyphosate_herbicide_use_in_the_United_States_and_Globally.pdf

Los europeos comen el doble de AGUACATES (PALTAS) que hace seis años - European consumers eat twice AVOCADOS than six years ago

(Photo source: https://i.guim.co.uk)

El aguacate o palta es un alimento ritual en la Super Bowl para muchos estadounidenses, siendo este un acontecimiento importante para la industria del aguacate. La Hass Avocado Board (Junta del Aguacate Hass) predijo que los estadounidenses consumirían 278 millones de aguacates durante la semana de la Super Bowl, una gran porción importada de México. 

En Europa no hay tradición de consumo de aguacates pero su consumo en los últimos 6 años se ha duplicado en la UE, estimándose en 0,75 kg per cápita y por año. Los consumidores estadounidenses comen cuatro veces más. Pese a que España produce cerca de 70.000 t de aguacates, la mayoría de los consumidos en la UE son importados, principalmente de Perú, Chile y Sudáfrica, según datos de la ONU. Los Países Bajos actúan como centro de distribución aguacates para el mercado europeo, siendo el mayor país importador y exportador de aguacate de la UE.

El notable aumento del aguacate en Europa se debe a varios factores. En primer lugar, el aumento de la disponibilidad de aguacates sabrosos y listos para consumir ha estimulado el crecimiento del mercado. En segundo lugar, los consumidores cada vez son más conscientes del valor nutricional y versatilidad del aguacate. El aumento de la promoción y de la información al consumidor acerca del uso de aguacates podría, al final, hacer que el aguacate se convirtiera en el aperitivo principal de la Eurocopa de la UEFA.

Fuente: far.rabobank.com y www.freshplaza.es

Una sola región exporta el 90% de los ARÁNDANOS peruanos - One region exports 90% of the Peruvian BLUBERRIES

Cosechera peruana de arándano (Fuente: http://ww2.kqed.org)

Las exportaciones de arándano de La Libertad entre enero y noviembre del 2015 registraron una facturación de unos US$ 76.950.417, lo cual significó un crecimiento del 236 % comparado con el mismo periodo del 2014, según informó el Área de Inteligencia Comercial de la Asociación de Exportadores (Adex).

En tanto, los envíos de este producto a nivel nacional alcanzaron US$ 81.921.547. En relación a los mercados que más consumen esta fruta, el primer puesto lo ocupó E.E.U.U. con US$ 43.938.221, seguido por los Países Bajos con US$ 21.328.638, Reino Unido con US$ 9.163.186, Hong Kong con US$ 1.231.158, Singapur con US$ 308.938 y España con US$ 239.106, entre otros.

Sin duda, uno de los incrementos más notorios en la exportación de productos agrícolas del departamento de La Libertad fue el arándano, logrando actualmente ser líderes indiscutibles dentro del país al representar más del 90 % de la exportación nacional. Le siguen en participación Áncash con 3 %, Lima 2 % e Ica 1 %.
Fuente: http://www.laindustria.pe

Finding shelf space in supermarkets for new FRUIT and VEGETABLES varieties and differentiated products is becoming an issue - Encontrar espacio en las góndolas de los supermercados para las nuevas variedades de FRUTAS y VERDURAS y otros productos diferenciados se está poniendo complicado

With display space for apples already crowded on retail shelves, will there be space for new varieties coming to market? (Photo by TJ Mullinax/Good Fruit Grower)

As growers produce larger crops comprising both mainstay and new varieties, marketers face greater challenges garnering retail shelf space. Supermarkets are not miraculously getting bigger, and that space has to come from somewhere — either from new varieties, organics or competing products like citrus fruit, according to Steve Lutz, Columbia Marketing International’s vice president of marketing.

Produce space is governed by retailers’ perceptions of consumer preference and what they think they can sell. And the pressure is on the industry to remain competitive. As an example, Lutz said, look at Budweiser: Sales have fallen roughly 40 percent in the past 20 years — from 49.2 million barrels in 1988 to 17.2 million barrels in 2011 — thanks to the booming craft beer market.

“Go into a grocery store today and look at the beer display. It’s now full of multiple brands,” Lutz said during the 111th Annual Meeting of the Washington State Tree Fruit Association, held in December in Yakima, Washington. “The question is, ‘How will I get it on the shelf, and how will I get it off the shelf once I’ve produced it?’”

Why worry?

The new orchards being planted each year mean there are a lot of young trees with new products and new varieties that will be bearing fruit and competing for space at the retail level, Lutz said. At the same time, consumption has been flat.

“The variety that we offer consumers offers us more opportunities to be successful with our products, but it puts demand on space,” he said. “When we produce the next Cosmic Crisp, where are we going to put it?” Apple, pear and cherry growers aren’t the only growers producing new varieties, either. Variety is up everywhere — grapes, tomatoes, melons, all major commodities — as well as the growing organic sector.

The Costcos and Sam’s Clubs of the world are unlikely to expand their produce footprint. Sam’s Club averages seven varieties of apple, but “just try to get an eighth,” Lutz said. “It is very, very difficult. They will say they have an expectation that your product will drive x number of sales per store, per week. If you can’t do that, we don’t want it.” Plus, as complexity increases in the marketplace, so do mistakes at the retail level, Lutz said. “It’s easy for the retail companies that we rely on to get it wrong, to make mistakes and be less than optimal.”

Driving retail

There’s a relationship between what products pay to a supermarket and what space retailers are willing to offer that product, Lutz said. Apples have the largest footprint of space at retail, but because of that large footprint, the dollars per square foot are among the lowest of all fruits, posing an even greater challenge to expand that space.

Retailers’ approaches to sales factor in as well.

During the marketing season for Washington’s 2014 record apple crop of 140 million packed boxes, the top 15 supermarket chains sold more apples, but the bottom 15 chains not only lost dollars, they also lost volume, Lutz said. Weaker-performing retailers tend to focus on a core low price and lack variety in their produce departments, with no new space or new items and no premium selections or upscale packages. Almost 80 percent of their sales and volume come from Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, Gala, Granny Smith and McIntosh, which means they’re still “approaching the apple category like it’s Budweiser,” Lutz said.

Conversely, top-performing retailers are generating only about 45 percent of their revenue from those five varieties, making greater gains with newer varieties like Honeycrisp, Jazz, Envy, Ambrosia, Cripps Pink and SweeTango. Strong retailers allocate space to large volumes, with solid premium selections and packaging options. They also leverage organics and organize flow in their departments to steer consumers to higher-value apples.

Lower-performing stores will put a familiar variety of apple for 49 cents per pound next to Honeycrisp at $2.99 per pound. “What message is that sending to the consumer? Buy the cheap apples,” he said. “It’s a self-defeating strategy that is an absolute waste of space.” Marketers have opportunities in the retail market if they remember that packaging sells and displays matter, Lutz said. “There is a space race going on, but we have spectacular new products coming to market. You have to execute with marketing, and you have to execute with packaging.” •
Source: Shannon Dininny (http://www.goodfruit.com)