Argentina BLUEBERRY exports update - Actualización de las exportaciones de ARÁNDANO de Argentina

Photo by http://www.argblueberry.com

A total of 1.304 t were exported by air to different markets on week 46. 

United States lead the imports with 926 t (71%) followed by the European Union with 163 t (13%) and by the United Kingdom with 120 t (9%). 495 TN by sea will arrive during week 50. The total volume exported follows the trend the ABC predicted in the pre season report. However the change can be seen in the percentage of sea shipments that continue to increase considerably, representing almost 40% of the total. It is estimated that this behavior will continue to replicate until the end of the season.

Date: 2016-11-23 17:20:00

A total of 1.703 t were exported by air to different markets on week 45.

United States lead the imports with 1.215 t (71%) followed by the United Kingdom with 209 t (12%) and by the European Union with 204 t (12%). 509 TN by sea will arrive during week 49. The total volume exported was similar to that estimated by ABC at the beginning of the season. With regard to sea shipments, the forecast for last week was fulfilled, increasing considerably and representing 22% of the total. It is estimated that in the following weeks this behavior will quite the same.

Date: 2016-11-16 18:11:00

A total of 1.914 TN were exported by air to different markets on week 44.

United States leads the imports with 1.359 t (71%) followed by the United Kingdom with 253 t (13%) and by the European Union with 210 TN (11%). 241 t by sea will arrive during week 48. As mentioned last week, the trend of downward in total export volume compared to the one projected by the ABC at the beginning of the campaign and the increase in sea shipments continues. It is estimated that in the following weeks this behavior will be even sharper.

Date: 2016-11-08 19:12:00

A total of 2.062 t were exported by air to different markets on week 43. 

United States lead the imports with 1.276 t (62%) followed by the United Kingdom with 390 t (19%) and by the European Union with 327 t (16%). 115.5 t by sea will arrive during week 47. This volume represents 25% below the one projected by the ABC at the beginning of the campaign. The season continues but at a lower pace than the estimated. Due to the world market situation exporters are sending the best varieties and the higher quality fruit aspects that characterize the Argentine blueberry. An increase in sea shipments are perceived and it is estimated that this trend will continue in the coming weeks.

Date: 2016-11-02 18:59:00

 A total of 2.075 t were exported by air to different markets on week 42.

United States lead the imports with 1.236 t (59%) followed by the the European Union with 436 t (21%) and by the United Kingdom with 354 t (17%). 83 t by sea will arrive during week 46. As mentioned last week, humid weather conditions stabilized the volume level of harvest and the total amount exported was less than the estimated for week 42.

Date: 2016-10-26 18:16:00

Source: http://www.argblueberry.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)

Factores climáticos hacen retrotraer las exportaciones de FRUTAS chilenas a niveles del 2006 - Climatic factors make roll back exports of Chilean FRUIT to 2006 levels

Foto: portalfruticola.com

Las 2.338 millones de toneladas proyectadas por Fedefruta para el 2016, son la cifra más baja de exportaciones chilenas de fruta fresca desde el 2006. Desde el año 2002, además, que la uva de mesa no registraba números tan bajos de exportación. La manzana, a su vez, cedería su puesto a los arándanos en términos de valores FOB. Fedefruta despliega un ciclo de encuentros frutícolas en las regiones para abordar la situación con los productores, puesto que es necesario encontrar nuevos nichos de negocio frente a este escenario de tendencia a la baja en los envíos.  Éstos parten la próxima semana en las regiones Metropolitana y del Maule. Definitivamente, las heladas del 2013 -en medio de la sequía- marcaron un antes y un después para la fruticultura chilena, porque desde ese momento que la industria no ha logrado recuperarse del todo en cuanto a los volúmenes, principalmente debido a factores climáticos que han consolidado una baja en las exportaciones.

Aquello es lo que estima Fedefruta en base a su proyección de fin de temporada, que revela no sólo una disminución del 4% en las toneladas enviadas de fruta fresca en relación al 2015. “La fruticultura chilena viene marcando una tendencia a la baja en sus exportaciones desde las heladas de septiembre de 2013, por ese mismo y otros factores climáticos posteriores como primaveras húmedas y lluvias en cosecha, además de la sequía”, concluye el presidente del gremio, Ramón Achurra, al revisar los datos que señalan que las exportaciones chilenas han caído en un 13,6% desde el 2013, año peak en los embarques frutícolas. Las 2.338 millones de toneladas proyectadas por Fedefruta para el 2016, son la cifra más baja de exportación de estos productos desde el 2006, año en que se enviaron 2.257 millones a los mercados. “La fruticultura chilena se ha devuelto unos diez años atrás en cuanto a volúmenes, pese al crecimiento en especies como arándanos, cerezas y frutos secos en este tiempo”, afirma Achurra.

Uvas, pomáceas y nueces

Basta decir que las exportaciones de las dos principales especies frutícolas del país, la uva de mesa y la manzana, que representan más del 60% del total de los envíos nacionales de fruta. La proyección de Fedefruta espera que la uva cierre con 670 mil toneladas exportadas,  una caída del 10,8% con respecto al año pasado y el volumen más bajo desde el 2002, cuando se enviaron 655 mil. Asimismo, no se espera que las manzanas superen las 580 mil toneladas de embarques, lo que significa una baja del 7,7% en relación al 2015, año que ya había anotada una disminución importante del 23,4% en comparación al 2014. Es más, si las estimaciones se cumplen, las manzanas cederían su segundo puesto a los arándanos en cuanto a valores FOB, con estos berries llegando a los USD 545 millones FOB (USD 35 millones por arriba). Otras pomáceas afectadas serán las peras, con una baja estimada de un 13% en las exportaciones, llegando a 125 mil toneladas luego del récord de 144 mil el 2015. Además, en cuanto a las nueces, que superaron la barrera de las 50 mil toneladas el 2015, se espera que las lluvias de abril hayan causado una caída del 12,1% en sus envíos este año, según las proyecciones más optimistas del gremio.

Otras frutas

Por su parte, este año los cítricos moderarán su crecimiento luego de un 2015 excepcional en que las exportaciones de naranjas, limones, clementinas y mandarinas subieron un 33%. De este modo, el gremio estima para este año un alza del 4% en estas frutas. En paltas (aguacates), Fedefruta proyecta un alza del 22,2% en la exportación, de 90 mil a 110 mil toneladas, debido a los precios más atractivos en los mercados externos, en lugar del interno que siempre ha competido con los destinos internacionales.

¿Qué hacer?

Fedefruta ha llevado este tema de la tendencia a la baja en las exportaciones a autoridades como el Ministerio de Agricultura y la banca, de la misma forma que lo hará en sus encuentros regionales con productores frutícolas en la Región Metropolitana (21 junio, Monticello) y El Maule (23 de junio, Curicó), donde se contemplarán nuevas estrategias productivas y nichos de negocio innovadores para salir adelante financieramente de esta situación que ya es tónica de los últimos años. “Por una primavera húmeda y lluvias en plena cosecha, hubo fruta que no pudo exportarse debido a que perdió la capacidad para viajar por 30 días y llegar en condiciones óptimas a sus mercados, pero no así su sabor ni calidad”, comentó Achurra. “Es fruta que podemos ocupar para otros nichos de negocio y es importante que podamos acordarlo como industria con nuestros asociados”.

Rodrigo Echeverría, productor de uva de mesa de la zona de Los Andes, en el valle de Aconcagua, quien coincide con la situación y explica que ésta no se debe a problemas económicos o de mercado, sino que el culpable es el clima. Echeverría además señaló que existe un problema de fondo, y es que en otros años al haber una menor oferta, había un alza de precios, pero este año al tener un producto con exceso de humedad no se ha producido el mismo efecto en cuanto a los precios de uva de mesa.

Por otro lado, indicó que Chile se enfrenta a otro problema, y es que ahora hay muchos competidores como Perú, Brasil, Sudáfrica, e incluso Australia. “Ya no somos la potencia que fuimos hasta hace unos 5 o 6 años atrás”. Como medida, Rodrigo Echeverría sugiere que “hay que conocer la situación climática de la que estamos siendo partícipes. Ya tenemos que considerar que al menos vamos a tener una o dos lluvias en la temporada de verano, por lo tanto hay muchas situaciones que debemos empezar a prevenir”. Agregó que se está viendo la forma de poner conos sobre los racimos y tener parrones con cubiertas, “proteger es la única alternativa si queremos tener nuestro producto en el mercado” y señaló que la protección química contra hongos, ya no es suficiente con la cantidad de lluvias que hay en el país.

Fuente: www.portalfruticola.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)

Ugly FRUIT and wonky VEGETABLES - FRUTAS feas y HORTALIZAS torcidas

A Reality Check on the food we waste because it doesn't look perfect.

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Zurückspulen

Each year, 1.3 billion tons of food are wasted. But how much of this is down to us rejecting food because we simply don’t like the look of what we see; maybe the carrots aren’t so smooth or straight, the bananas don’t look as ripe and the tomatoes appear a bit off colour. So we don’t buy them, or the manufacturers won’t even select them to appear in the supermarkets and these products get thrown on the scrapheap.

dpa/Tobias Hase

However, the less than pure looking fruit and vegetables are very often just as fresh, edible and nourishing as the more aesthetically pleasing variety. And we are adding to that global pile of food waste simply by putting that rather bendy looking courgette back on the shelf.

I spoke with Rhi Willmot, a researcher in Behavioural and Positive Psychology, at Bangor University in the UK. During her master’s degree in Consumer Psychology she opened a pop-up shop selling 'ugly' fruit and vegetables.

So what did you discover about what we reject and why?

An important point here is that many people don’t actually realise how much is being wasted. I set up a pop-up shop selling ugly fruit and vegetables last year, it gave us the chance to talk to consumers and it left us feeling astounded about how much food was being rejected not because there was anything wrong with it, but simply that it looked slightly funny.

Tell us more about that ‘ugly’ food shop.

Along with a friend, and we are not expert food sellers or anything like that, but we hooked up with a local company and they brought us all of the ugly foods that weren’t being sold by the local supermarkets and we got quite a range of things; we came across things that were just slightly mis-shapen so carrots with two legs, wonky strawberries that looked a bit weird, there was all kind of foodstuffs we took in.

Is it supermarkets or just the customers dictating the desire for the perfect potato of the most beautiful looking carrot?

Probably both. We do have natural impulses to look favourably on things that are naturally symmetrical or unblemished. So I think when people are shopping for food it is generally things that are not so perfect that get left on the shelves. And supermarkets have done a lot to enhance that notion. There’s no need to produce so much fruit and vegetables and then only select the best out of that. At the end of the day, ugly fruit & vegetables are generally perfectly OK to eat and I think people would be much happier to think that there isn’t such a huge amount of food being wasted, whilst putting a funny looking vegetable in their basket.

dpa-Zentralbild/Britta Pedersen

Can we relate any of this to theories of human attraction?

Most theories of human attraction tend to suggest we find people with symmetrical features more attractive, than people with asymmetries. That’s thought to be because it had been assumed that physical asymmetries came about through diseases occurring during physical development. So the idea is that evolutionary, it is better to select a mate with a symmetrical face since that signifies they have healthier genes and any offspring are likelier to be more healthy. I think you can see some parallels between those theories and our choices of fuit and vegetables. But the evolutionary advantages aren’t relevant to fruit and vegetables. So we may have those underlying preferences for symmetry in mate selection. However, in the context of selecting fruit and vegetables, symmetry doesn’t provide any advantages.

Do you think the future is a yes to wonky veg and ugly fruit?

Yes, I hope so. I think a huge benefit I see is that more and more people are becoming aware of the wastage of what’s going on. Once that awareness takes hold, there could be real pressure on the supermarkets to start selling these ugly foodstuffs. I hope that the current awareness is not just a fad with people getting excited and the trend tailing off.

Source (with audio): http://fm4.orf.at/stories/1769126/

Temas sobresalientes del 1er Foro del CAQUI en España - Highlights of the 1st PERSIMMON Forum in Spain

El caqui (Diospyros kaki) se ha convertido en uno de los cultivos que mayor crecimiento ha experimentado en los últimos años en España. En la actualidad hay más de 6.000 agricultores productores de esta fruta. Según datos de la Denominació d’Origen Protegida Kaki Ribera del Xúquer, en 2010 se producían 12.000 t de caqui en España, en 2015 la cosecha superó las 240.000 t y la mayor parte de esta producción se exporta. En total, el año pasado la exportación superó las 160.000 t estando presentes en 48 mercados. Una de sus principales ventajas es el elevado precio que alcanza este producto en destino, sobre todo en los mercados exteriores.

Para debatir el futuro de este producto, la división Crop Science de Bayer ha celebrado el I Foro del Caqui en el que han participado cerca de 300 productores, investigadores y técnicos de toda España. Este encuentro busca potenciar la transferencia tecnológica entre la sociedad científica y los agricultores. El foro estuvo dividido en seis bloques temáticos alrededor de este fruto: Entomología, Patología, Maquinaria, Mercados-Exportación, Variedades y Soluciones Bayer.

Alberto Urbaneja, coordinador del centro de protección vegetal y biotecnología del Instituto Valenciano de Investigaciones Agrarias (IVIA) abrió el bloque dedicado a la entomología hablando sobre la ‘Puesta a punto de un programa de gestión integrada de plagas en caqui’. En el transcurso de su charla explicó los últimos avances en el programa de gestión integrada en el que está trabajando actualmente el Ivia. Urbaneja aprovechó el foro para lanzar el portal www.gipcaqui.ivia.es, un portal en colaboración con la Cátedra Bayer, que recogerá las novedades en el desarrollo de este programa.

Francisco Beitia, investigador científico del IVIA habló de las ‘Especies de cotonets (cochinillas) presentes en caqui e importancia de su correcta identificación’, en el cual señaló que el fuerte incremento en la producción de caqui en los últimos años ha venido, desgraciadamente, acompañado del aumento en las plagas que le afectan. Asimismo, señaló que recientemente han detectado una nueva plaga Delotococcus aberiae, que puede crear problemas a los exportadores.

Fuente: https://www.interempresas.net

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)

New method to sort JABOTICABA FRUIT by maturity stage - Nuevo método para clasificar FRUTOS de JABOTICABA según grado de madurez

Jaboticaba fruit (photo from http://jasmynetea.typepad.com)

This study proposes a rapid and non-destructive method of jaboticaba (Myrciaria cauliflora) fruit classification at three maturity stages based on skin colour (immature - fruit completely green, physiologically mature - fruit turning from green to purple and ripe - fruit completely purple) using Near-Infrared Reflectance Spectroscopy (NIRS) combined with principal component analysis–linear discriminant analysis (PCA-LDA), and variable selection techniques employing a successive projection algorithm (SPA-LDA) or genetic algorithm (GA-LDA). One hundred eighty jaboticaba fruit samples in three maturity stages were used and the multivariate classification accuracy results were tested based on sensitivity, specificity, positive (or precision) and negative predictive values, Youden index, positive and negative likelihood ratios. The immature stage the classification models PCA-LDA, GA-LDA and SPA-LDA achieved sensitivity of 100% in the validation set. The results obtained in this study suggest that the proposed method is a promising alternative for assessing jaboticaba fruit maturity, without the need for metabolite extraction/purification.

Source: R.C. Costa, L. Junior, T. Morgenstern, G. Teixeira and K.M.G. de Lima. Analytical Methods (http://pubs.rsc.org/).

BANANA and other ingredients of vegetal origin in the Vietnamise street food - BANANA y otros ingredientes de origen vegetal en la comida callejera vietnamita

Vietnam in the heights, in the area of Dalat, northeast of Ho Chi Minh City. Here too, the tradition of street food is expressed by each local ingredient. In this video, a woman frying banana in soy oil, battered in a rice flour together with soy milk and black sesame seeds. Extraordinary afternoon snack!

Azerbaijani FRUIT production doubles over past 10 years - Producción de FRUTAS en Azerbaijan se duplica en los últimos 10 años

Azerbaijani fruits (Photo from http://photos.uncorneredmarket.com/)

Azerbaijani fresh fruit and berry production totals about 1 million tons now, twice as high as in 2005, and analysts see high potential in the fruit and vegetable sector in Azerbaijan, which will be unlocked in the nearest few years. The stonefruit segment shows the largest development rate with an increase of 250% in apricot production over the past decade, and a rise of 300% in production of peaches and nectarines over the same period. Production of pome fruits has been growing less rapidly, but the past decade's results are also impressive: production of apples and pears has grown by 100% and 50%, respectively. Similar situation is observed in the segment of berries, which production has almost doubled over the past 10 years.

This positive production trend will only intensify in the nearest years thanks to the factor of intensively developing sector, which is shown by evolution of yields in Azerbaijani orchards. According to official statistics, orchards' productivity has grown by 50-100% in the country in the past decade. The market experts see an increase in exports as the main driver for the sector development. In addition, Azerbaijan exports about a half of annually produced volumes of stonefruits. Moreover, the demand for Azerbaijani produce will only be growing in the external market thanks to significant changes in the market environment in countries near and far abroad.

Source: http://www.fruit-inform.com

La FRUTICULTURA tropical con buenas perspectivas en Argentina - Tropical FRUIT production with good prospects in Argentina

Foto: http://noticias.iruya.com/

El referente de la Asociación de Productores de Frutas y Hortalizas de la provincia argentina de Salta, José Luis Checa, consideró que la fruticultura tropical se presenta como una actividad muy prometedora para la economía regional. "En el noroeste argentino (NOA) contamos con 3.500 hectáreas de banano, 350 de mango, 200 de palta (aguacate), 70 de papaya y 25 de maracuyá, todos cultivos en expansión realizados a pulmón por los casi 200 productores de la zona", sintetizó.

Además señaló que hay un conglomerado (cluster) de frutas tropicales en el que se involucran distintos sectores de la sociedad y que colaboran con el desarrollo.

También destacó el respaldo del Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria, INTA Yuto, como principal impulsor de los cultivos tropicales, mediante el asesoramiento, proveedor de plantas a través de su cooperadora, y artífice de varios planes de promoción de mango, papaya y palta, entre otros.

"Resulta de importancia la colaboración de consorcios de riego, asociaciones de productores y del Programa de Servicios Agrícolas Provinciales (PROSAP)", dijo Checa. Explicó que "las frutas tropicales son generadoras de mucho empleo en la zona, ya que las operaciones que demandan las plantaciones se realizan artesanalmente, con la particularidad de que el obrero rural tiene trabajo y vivienda todo el año en el mismo establecimiento".

"Así se torna una herramienta importantísima para el desarrollo de las economías regionales", precisó al señalar que "otra gran ventaja de estos cultivos es la sustitución de importaciones". Es un "dato que se presenta como una alternativa sólida para evitar fuga de divisas, debido a que el mercado interno existe para este tipo de productos: sólo tenemos que hacerlo nuestro". Lo más sobresaliente que resaltó "son las cualidades de la fruta que se producen en nuestro subtrópico: en cuanto a sabor, no nos gana nadie", se animó a decir Checa.

"La fruta que producimos tiene mayor concentración de sólidos solubles. Con respecto a la sanidad, tenemos zonas libres de las principales plagas y enfermedades de las regiones con las que competimos", expresó. Ejemplificó que en bananas no realizan ninguna pulverización aérea de fungicidas, mientras en el trópico hacen 40 aplicaciones anuales. "Esto requiere que, tanto el sector público como el privado, cuidemos este estatus sanitario, que brinda ventajas comparativas a nuestra zona", añadió. Pidió que se valore "la gran importancia que actualmente tienen y, fundamentalmente, tendrán los frutos tropicales para las economías regionales del NOA y NEA".

Fuente: http://noticias.terra.com.ar/

Asia: A great market for ACHACHA FRUIT - Asia: Un gran mercado para la ACHACHA

Awareness and demand for achacha fruit is continuing to grow this year as chefs, foodies and the health conscious continue to explore exotic fruit and vegetables around the world. The achacha is originally from Bolivia – where it is known as achachairú and has been cultivated for many years in smallholdings and domestic orchards – but the leading commercial plantation for the fruit is actually in Queensland, Australia. Achacha grower Bruce Hill has championed the fruit since 2002, when an agreement with the Bolivian Government allowed him to start growing achacha commercially at Palm Creek Plantation, just south of Townsville in north Queensland. He says they have 120 ha dedicated to more than 16,000 achacha trees, as well as “about 60 mango trees and a few other tropical species”.

More people are discovering this unique fruit every year, with Asia a particularly strong market for the upcoming 2015/16 season. “There has been a lot of interest from that region over the last few months. And we expect exports to UK / Europe will continue,” he says, also noting that the Australian domestic market continues to grow each year. While the achacha’s unique sweet and tangy flavour is one of its main drawcards, Mr Hill also says it has a lot of health benefits that appeal to people. “It’s high in antioxidants, and very low in sugars,” he says. “There is a steady stream of customers with diabetes who buy box loads of the fruit from the plantation.”

“A recent study by the University of Western Sydney has found high levels of arginine, which benefits the cardiovascular system, in the skin – suggesting that the drink traditionally made from the skins as a hunger suppressant could have other beneficial properties as well.” Mr Hill has also noticed more interest from the culinary world, where exotic fruits and vegetables are currently very on trend. “More and more chefs are becoming aware of the fruit and what can be done with it so we expect that it will feature increasingly on menus in restaurants,” he says.

“To facilitate its use in sorbets, ice-cream, cocktails, desserts, drinks and so on, not only do we provide a Thermomix pulping method, but we are installing a processing facility to separate the pulp from the rest of the fruit.” The achacha flowers also provide a great flavour for honey, although Mr Hill says there won’t be any this season due to drought. He says dry weather has definitely affected the plantation this year – in the same way it has for many other tropical fruits grown in Australia, such as mangoes and lychees.

“We have had an exceptionally dry year, virtually no rain since March, and this no doubt has influenced the crop, which will be later than usual,” he says. “We normally follow mangoes – this year the mango harvest has been extremely poor, and drawn out, with fruit ripening over a couple of months instead of the usual three weeks or so.” With the fruit just starting to show colour on the trees, Mr Hill expects harvest will start in mid-January and hopes to have several hundred tonnes for both domestic sales and exports.

Source: http://www.freshplaza.com

ACHACHA: Una FRUTA nativa de Bolivia cuyo consumo global se impulsó desde Australia - ACHACHA: A native Bolivian FRUIT which global consumption was promoted from Australia

Achacha (Foto: http://www.vivasantacruz.com)

Garcinia humilis, conocido comúnmente como achachairú o achacha es un árbol perteneciente a la familia Clusiaceae, de 6-7 m de altura que crece únicamente en la región de las llanuras aluviales de Bolivia y cuyo fruto es una baya comestible. Está emparentado con el mangostán (G. mangostana) y el madroño (G. madruno). Se cultiva tradicionalmente en Bolivia, pero recientemente se ha plantado en escala comercial en Australia. La fruta obtuvo el tercer lugar en los Premios a la Innovación Fruit Logística 2012, celebrada en Berlín.

El fruto de la achacha tiene un color dorado intenso que llega al anaranjado rojizo brillante cuando está maduro. Tiene forma oval y llega a tener, hasta 6 cm de largo por 4 cm de diámetro. Suele tener una semilla grande de color café, en un fruto más grande pueden hallarse dos semillas. Como cultivo de fruta ecológica, que no ha atravesado cientos de generaciones de cría selectiva, cada fruto tiene sus propias características, frecuentemente con algunas pequeñas irregularidades y marcas en su piel, que añaden interés a su apariencia, pero no afectan a su calidad. Pulpa blanca comestible. El sabor es descrito tanto amargo como dulce. La cáscara es dura y amarga y se puede dividir con un cuchillo o con los dientes de la parte comestible de la fruta adherida a la semilla.
El Departamento de Agricultura, Pesca y Silvicultura de Queensland determinó que el fruto se conserva bien durante 4-6 semanas en un rango de 15 a 20ºC y alta humedad relativa. La cosecha es en el verano (diciembre a marzo en el hemisferio sur).

Source: wikipedia.org

Cámara de bajo costo para mirar el interior de las FRUTAS - Inexpensive camera to look inside the FRUIT

Siempre es difícil seleccionar una fruta en el supermercado, por fuera se ve en perfecto estado, pero quizás por dentro ya esté madurando. Por ello la Universidad de Washington (UW) junto a Microsoft Research, desarrollaron una cámara que permite ver el interior del producto con mayor detalle. Se trata de HyperCam, una cámara hiperespectral de bajo costo que utiliza tanto la luz visible como la del infrarrojo cercano para ‘”ver” bajo las superficies y capturar los detalles que no se ven.

Este tipo de cámara se utiliza normalmente en aplicaciones industriales y puede costar entre varios miles a decenas de miles de dólares, informa la Universidad de Washington. En un documento presentado en la conferencia UbiComp 2015, el equipo detalló que la solución hardware cuesta unos USD 800, o potencialmente tan poco como USD 50 si se fabrica sólo lo esencial y se añade a una cámara de teléfono móvil. Los investigadores también desarrollaron un software inteligente que encuentra fácilmente las diferencias “ocultas” entre lo que la cámara hiperespectral captura y lo que se puede ver a simple vista.

Como parte de una investigación preliminar de la utilidad de HyperCam como herramienta biométrica, en una prueba con 25 usuarios el sistema fue capaz de diferenciar entre las imágenes de las manos de los usuarios con 99% de exactitud. En otra prueba, el equipo también tomó imágenes hiperespectrales de 10 frutas, entre ellas frutillas (fresas), mangos y paltas (aguacates) en el transcurso de una semana. Las imágenes de HyperCam predijeron la madurez relativa de las frutas con 94% de precisión, en comparación con el 62% de una cámara típica.

“Con este tipo de cámara se puede ir a la tienda de comestibles y saber qué fruta escoger mirando bajo de la piel y ver si hay algo mal en el interior. Es como tener una aplicación de seguridad de los alimentos en el bolsillo”, manifestó Shwetak Patel, profesor de informática e ingeniería electrónica de la Washington Research Foundation en UW.

En la actualidad, las imágenes hiperespectrales se utilizan para todo, desde imágenes satelitales y monitoreo de energía hasta inspecciones de infraestructura y de seguridad alimentaria, pero el alto costo de la tecnología ha limitado su uso para fines industriales o comerciales. Ante esto, el equipo de la Universidad de Washington y Microsoft Research quería ver si podía hacer una cámara hiperespectral relativamente simple y asequible para el uso del consumidor.

Según lo informado, el sistema aún debe superar algunos desafíos. Por ejemplo, la cámara no funciona particularmente bien en luz brillante y el equipo está buscando la forma de hacerla más pequeña para incluirla en un teléfono móvil.
Fuente: http://www.portalfruticola.com

Entomólogos descubren nuevas especies de MOSCA DE LA FRUTA - Entomologists discover new species of FRUIT FLY

Acanthiophilus minor (Foto Agencia de Noticias SINC)

Un equipo de investigadores de la Universidad de Tel Aviv, Israel, descubrió tres nuevas especies de mosca de la fruta, pertenecientes al género Acanthiophilus. Estos insectos habitan en África, Europa y Asia, y aunque algunos son un buen mecanismo de control contra el crecimiento excesivo de maleza, otros suponen una plaga seria que daña cultivos y ocasiona graves pérdidas económicas. En el estudio -publicado en Annals of the Entomological Society of America– se identifican tres especies: A. minor, A. summissus y A. unicus. Los científicos se centraron en este grupo de moscas para identificar su filogenia, es decir, las relaciones de parentesco con los distintos seres vivos, informa la agencia.

“Este descubrimiento es parte de un proyecto más grande: una revisión de Acanthiophilus y el género de la mosca de la fruta Tephritomyia“, afirma Elizabeth Morgulis, investigadora del departamento de Zoología de la Universidad de Tel Aviv (Israel) y coautora del trabajo. “Cuando comenzamos nuestra investigación, la hipótesis era que Acanthiophilus y Tephritomyia formaban un grupo monofilético. Algunas de las especies que fueron asignadas en un primer momento a Acanthiophilus en realidad pertenecían a otros géneros y descubrimos tres especies no descritas de este tipo de moscas de la fruta”, explicó la científica.

Los siguientes pasos del estudio según Morgulis, serían un análisis cladístico a gran escala y otro filogenético molecular que incluya al género y a otros relacionados. De acuerdo a lo informado, el objetivo de la investigación es obtener un mayor conocimiento respecto a este grupo de moscas para llegar a comprenderlo como un todo, así como verificar el estatus de las plantas huéspedes e identificar otras especies de este género ya que el equipo considera que aún quedan moscas sin descubrir.

Fuente: www.portalfruticola.com

A robust trellis reduces labour and improves quality in APPLES - Un sistema de conducción robusto reduce la mano de obra y mejora la calidad en MANZANAS

Photo source: http://farmersweekly.co.za

In the past, apple farmers were able to get away with paying less attention to the type of trellis systems they erected in orchards. However, orchards that follow the new trend of higher density in which trees are planted as close as 0,75m apart in the row, are less forgiving.

This is according to Willie Kotze, research and development manager at Dutoit Group. Kotze recently spoke at the Hortgro Science Symposium near Franschhoek on methods to extend the lifespan of a trellis system in a high-density apple orchard. Up till fairly recently, the main function of a trellis has been to support young trees in medium-density plantings. After a few years, the trees become less dependent on support.

The trellises help the trees to reach their optimal height faster and prevent the development of basal dominance (vigorous side-shoots near the base). Trees with basal dominance require considerable inputs to boost leader growth and in some cases these trees never reach their full production potential. According to Kotze, medium-density trees planted in a trellis system can produce up to 30% more fruit during the first five years than trees without support.

High-density planting and crop weight
With high-density planting, the trellis system has to support growth and be strong enough to support the crop weight during the productive life of the tree. Kotze explains that these trees develop trunks and branches that are too thin to support the crop, resulting in the need for a trellis system. In addition, trees planted on dwarfing rootstocks, such as M9, M26 and MM106, produce root systems that are not as strongly anchored as those of other more traditional rootstocks.

Long rows need strong anchors
As the end-post and anchors combination have to carry all the weight, Kotze advises farmers to consider soil type and row length when selecting a trellis system. In sandy soil, base plates should be larger than those used in heavier soil, and the longer the row, the stronger the anchor should be. Provision should also be made for wind impact, as the wind force can double the load on a system, according to a study by Cornell University in the US.

In South Africa, the box and slant brace are the two most popular anchoring systems. Farmers also use a slant and tieback combination. The box system is more expensive, because three poles are used in the anchor section, whereas only two are used in the slant brace, explains Kotze. While both worked well in the past with more vigorous rootstocks, Kotze feels that tie-backs will be better able to carry the weight in a high-density system.

“On less vigorous rootstocks, you cannot have trellises supporting trees halfway, as strain will damage the trees. They simply cannot support themselves.” It is calculated that trees will reach a height of between 80% and 100% of the distance between the rows in the orchard, which in this case, varies between 3,5m to 4m.

Searching for the right angle
According to research undertaken by New Mexico State University in the US, the strongest system is one in which the end-post leans away from the anchor wire at a 60° angle. In this way, both end-post and anchor wire carry the force. “If the pole is planted too upright, the load will become unequally distributed and this could result in the collapse of an anchor,” Kotze explains.

The longer the post, the greater the anchor pole’s diameter needs to be.“The anchor post should preferably have a diameter of more than 100mm. The pole should be sunk into the ground between 0,8m and 1m deep. By increasing the planting by a third, resistance to overturning is almost doubled,” he says.

Previously, in-line posts (used inside the rows) had to support only the weight of young trees in medium-density plantings. In high-density systems they also serve as a counterweight. The poles should therefore not be planted further than 12m apart, and the distance between them should decrease as the rows become longer.

The diameter of the poles should be between 80mm and 100mm. Higher trees need thicker posts and upgrading the poles by a single class could increase stress resistance by as much as 40%, according to Kotze. Planting the poles deeper into the ground will also reduce the chances of their leaning sideways. The impact of the wind should also be taken into account when choosing poles and planning where to plant them.

Correct wire application
The total breaking strength of the wires used in the trellis – whether four or five – has to be equal to the breaking strength of the tie-back wires connecting the anchor to the end-poles. Various types of wire are available; Kotze recommends high tensile steel wire that does not stretch too easily. The yield strength (the point at which the wire will not return to its original length), and breaking strength of the wire need to be considered before an informed decision can be made.

For 2mm diameter wire, the range is 350kg and 500kg, depending on the type of wire used. As a rule of thumb, the wire should be tensioned to about 50% of the yield strength during construction. This will help to keep the wire from sagging once the crop is established.

The wire connected to the end-post should be taut, and not simply tied around the post; this will not provide any control over the tension required. Kotze emphasises that the leader support should not carry any weight, but only guide leader growth. It should be able to resist the wind and not slide along the trellis wire.

Staple requirements
Staples are used to affix the wire to the poles and end-poles. Most growers use the smallest staples they can find to save costs. However, this could lead to problems: the staples could be ripped out of the poles when the load becomes too heavy, causing the wires to sag. mIn addition, the staples should not be driven too deeply into a pole, as this will damage the galvanising of the wires and compromise the life-expectancy of the entire system. It could also cause stress points on the wire.
“Use a slash-cut points; it gives you a better grip when inserting the staples,” advises Kotze.

The staples should be placed at a 45° angle to split the grain. If you place them in a straight line, they will create a groove along the grain of the pole and pull out more easily.” The wire should also be installed on the upwind side of an in-line post to prevent the wind from pushing the wire away from the post. It is not a good idea to have a wire running at the top of the posts, as staples have very little grip on the pole-ends and the wires could cut into the posts.

Money well spent – if the job is well done
Kotze advises producers to budget properly when planning a trellis system of this nature, as it can increase the cost of establishing a new orchard by R60 000/ha to R70 000/ ha, which is about three times that of a conventional trellis system. However, he feels that improved quality, higher yield and reduced labour costs once the orchard is well-established, could make up for this, provided the job is done properly.

Source: Glenneis Kriel (http://farmersweekly.co.za)