La cuna del JOCOTE produce 5 millones de libras del fruto - The cradle of JOCOTE produces 5 million pounds of the fruit

El incremento en la producción lo están logrando con el apoyo del programa Agrocadenas, que impulsa la FAO.

Durante más de 30 años los habitantes de San Lorenzo, en Ahuachapán habían buscado producir un cultivo que les permitiera progresar como familias y como municipio, después de experimentar con cereales y frutas descubrieron el dulce fruto que los sacaría de la pobreza.

En los últimos cuatro años San Lorenzo ha realizado el tradicional festival del Jocote (Spondias purpurea), una actividad que años con año ha ido posicionando al municipio como el mayor productor de jocote, en el país, en especial la variedad conocida como “Barón rojo”.

Y es el que los habitantes del municipio, han encontrado una fuente de ingresos que les está permitiendo mejorar su calidad de vida con el incremento de tierras cultivadas de jocote, una fruta que no necesita mayor inversión y cuido, y que rinde considerables ganancias.

Omar Fajardo, productor y presidente de la Asociación Cooperativa de Producción Agroindustrial, Aprovisionamiento y Comercialización del Jocote y Loroco de San Lorenzo señala que durante años estuvieron experimentando con diferentes productos, pero, decidieron apostar por el cultivo del jocote Barón Rojo para mejorar sus economías.

“Aquí la necesidad obligó a la gente, porque por las condiciones del suelo los granos básicos no funcionan y se intentó con arrayán pero lo botaba el viento que aquí pega fuerte”, afirma de agricultor, quien asegura que después descubrieron que el jocote podía ser el salvavidas para evitar la migración.

“El apoyo de la FAO ha sido importante, nos han ayudado aumentar la producción y hoy por eso lo llamamos ‘la cuna del jocote’ porque hablar de jocote Barón Rojo es hablar de San Lorenzo”, dice el agricultor, quien añade que por el momento se cultiva en estas tierras un promedio de mil manzanas con el fruto.

El producto se cosecha en la zona desde hace más de 30 años; sin embargo no conocían su potencial porque no había encontrado cómo explotarlo. Con el apoyo técnico de diferentes instituciones estatales y organismos internacionales han implementado técnicas que les ha permitido multiplicar la producción en los últimos cuatro años.

Los agricultores han recibido capacitaciones para un uso adecuado del manejo del fruto y también cómo sacar provecho y hacer derivados como mermeladas, jaleas, paletas, chicles y otros productos.

Doña Dianira Sermeño es una ama de casa que tuvo que emigrar a San Salvador para obtener ingresos y educar a sus hijos, pero desde hace año y medio es socia de la cooperativa y ya está viendo los primero resultados.

“Hoy estoy contenta porque trabajo aquí y estoy con mi familia y ofreciendo productos que innovan la gastronomía”, asegura, quien trabaja en la producción de mermelada de jocote.

 

El cultivo del jocote lo están combinando con el de loroco, una planta que hasta hace poco era cultivada en huertos caseros pero que hoy su producción está orientada a cultivar a gran escala como  parte de la diversificación agrícola, con fines de exportación como un producto no tradicional.

De momento la cooperativa trabaja en la creación de alianzas para poder comercializar los productos en los mercados formales, ya que el próximo paso será la exportación.

Los productores y autoridades municipales piensan que a mayor producción más fuentes de empleo y menor delincuencia, por eso es que su principal apuesta es continuar con el crecimiento de la producción para un mayor despegue económico.

“Lo que buscamos es mejorar las economías de las familias lorenzanas”, dice el alcalde, Walter Ortiz, quien ha apoyado la iniciativa facilitando en comodato un terreno para que los agricultores tengan su centro de acopio.

En la actualidad los habitantes ofrecen servicios agroturísticos, y hay rutas donde los visitantes pueden vivir la experiencia de cortar el fruto y lo recolectado se puede llevar a casa. “Esta experiencia le gusta mucho a la gente que nos visita”, afirma el presidente de la Cooperativa.

La gira por los cultivos se puede recorrer en fines de semana o cuando las personas lo soliciten y sirve de interacción entre los productores y los consumidores, dijo el presidente de la cooperativa, quien no dudó en invitar a los salvadoreños que visiten el poblado de San Lorenzo.

Fuente: www.lapagina.com.sv  

Germany: the campaign to battle the declining POTATO consumption seems to be successful - La campaña de lucha contra la caída del consumo de PAPA (PATATA) parece ser exitosa

"The planting of potatoes is almost finished in most regions. Farmers could start early with preparing the ground, only to be interrupted by short periods of rain. The acreage used for the cultivation of potatoes in 2015 is at about the same level as last year, said Martin Umhau, the chairman of the Potato Committee of the German Farmers Association (Deutschen Bauernverbandes, DBV). "In a few weeks, the first German potatoes will be ready for the market."
In 2014 German potatoes were cultivated on 245,000 hectares, mostly in Lower Saxony, Bavaria and North Rhine-Westphalia. Not all of the 11.5 million tons of potatoes harvested in 2014 have been sold, noticed Umhau. Despite the prolonged storage, the quality of the potatoes is still good to very good. "Therefore, consumers can serve German potatoes and asparagus without hesitation," said Umhau.
The campaign “The potato. Completely delicious!” was launched in Germany to battle the declining potato consumption; farmer associations support the campaign. Consumers can use various media channels to find undiscovered information and facts about the potato.
Source: www.freshplaza.com

Argentina. Las calles de Mendoza abarrotadas de MANZANAS y PERAS del Alto Valle por la suspensión de las exportaciones a Brasil - Mendoza streets crowded with APPLES and PEARS of the Alto Valle by the suspension of exports to Brazil

Por el conflicto en Brasil, productores de la Patagonia venden sus frutas en Mendoza a muy bajo precio. Quejas por competencia desleal.

 

                  

Desde el 25 de marzo, Argentina no puede colocar ni peras ni manzanas en Brasil, como consecuencia de la detección de cargamentos con carpocapsa. Mientras se espera una resolución, productores mendocinos aseguran que el Alto Valle de Río Negro ha “inundado” los mercados locales con fruta que se encuentra con precios por debajo del costo de producción. 

“Hemos empezado a preocuparnos bastante con el tema de que no se resuelve el conflicto con Brasil. Ya hemos empezado a sentir los efectos de no vender la fruta en ese destino. Principalmente la fruta que no se vendió y hoy está con un proceso de maduración avanzado, por lo que en el mercado local hay una sobreoferta con precios muy bajos”, aseguró Juan Riveira, empacador y presidente de la Asociación de Productores y Exportadores de Fruta en Fresco (ASPEFF).

Para el dirigente, lo que no se vendió en marzo hoy está empezando a madurar. “Algunas cajas las hemos podido destinar a industria, mientras que otras están a la espera de licencias para poder exportarlas a Brasil, pero el tiempo se acorta”, afirmó el empresario. Riveira estimó que como la prohibición es general para todo el sector, la fruta que en el Alto Valle se quedó sin colocar se está vendiendo en nuestra provincia con precios “irrisorios”.

En este sentido, señaló que “tenemos una invasión de fruta de la Patagonia a cualquier precio. La provincia está con una oferta de fruta que no es normal. Además, llegando al mercado de Mendoza se nos utiliza de trampolín para alcanzar a los mercados del NEA y el NOA, lugares en donde nuestra provincia coloca su producción”. 

Agregó: “Están ofreciendo valores que no cubren los costos, con lo cual la fruta la están regalando. Están vendiendo 40% por debajo de lo que lo hacemos nosotros. Hoy un cajón de fruta preparada para exportación tiene un costo final de $130; ese tipo de mercadería hoy se está vendiendo a $80.

Lo extraño y lo malo es que esa baja no se traduce en menor precio al consumidor, lo que podría incentivar un aumento de la demanda. Al público, la pera y la manzana no le han bajado. El último eslabón se queda con la renta”. Alberto Carleti, de la mesa frutícola provincial, sostuvo que la semana pasada se reunió con la presidenta del Senasa y que las perspectivas no son auspiciosas. 

“El jueves de la semana pasada fuimos con CAME a una reunión con la presidenta del Senasa, Diana Guillén. Si bien la agenda incluyó otros temas, cuando se avanzó sobre el conflicto con las peras y las manzanas la representante del Senasa se mostró preocupada y no cree que se destrabe rápidamente”, dijo Carleti.

El dirigente describió que “SENASA ofreció realizar algunas modificaciones en el Sistema de Mitigación de Riesgo para poder avanzar. Sin embargo, según se pudo saber durante la reunión, en la agenda bilateral entre los ministros de Agricultura de ambos países se esperaba alguna novedad, (pero) el tema fue excluido, lo que no es una buena señal”.

Fuente: María Soledad Gonzalez (www.losandes.com.ar)

More FRUIT and VEGETABLES harvested in Hungary in the last season - Más FRUTAS y HORTALIZAS cosechadas en Hungría en la última temporada

Hungaryʼs fruit and vegetable harvest climbed to 2.97 million tons last year, owing to good weather, the head of professional association FruitVeB said today.

Photo by Tupungato @ http://www.123rf.com

Hungarian farmers harvested 15-17% more vegetables and 26-28% more fruit, Ferenc Ledo told a meeting of FruitVeB. Vegetables grown in the open accounted for 1.4 mln tons of the harvest and greenhouse vegetables for 395,000 tons. The mushroom harvest reached 25,000 tons and 1.15 million tons of fruit was harvested.

Farmers harvested 230,000 tons of peppers, 172,000 tons of tomatoes, 220,000 tons of watermelon, 95,000 tons of green peas, 580,000 tons of cucumbers for pickling and 31,000 tons of green beans.

Fruit farmers harvested 820,000 tons of apples, 85,000 tons of sour cherries, 75,000 tons of plums, 42,000 tons of pears, 47,000 tons of peaches, 35,000 tons of apricots and 17,000 tons of sweet cherries.

The sector was worth HUF 255-260 bln last year, calculated using farm gate prices. Based on retail prices, it was valued at HUF 700 bln-710 bln. The values were down 10-15% from the previous year. Roughly half of Hungaryʼs fruit and vegetables are exported.

Sources: http://www.bbj.hu and www.freshplaza.es

Phytoplasma probably involved in a very dangerous CABBAGE disease - Fitoplasma probablemente involucrado en una enfermedad muy peligrosa del REPOLLO

At the time of writing, there is uncertainty as to what pathogen causes the disease. Initially, it was declared to be a phytoplasma, a bacterium with a membrane instead of a cell wall, but subsequent tests have questioned this.

The tell-tale black ring in the conducting tissue.

      

As if a cabbage farmer does not have enough to contend with, a destructive new disease is currently doing the rounds. 

Hopefully it will soon be identified so that control measures can be formulated. In the meantime, the disease has been named ‘brassica stunting disorder’ (BSD).

Another question that scientists are grappling with is how BSD entered South Africa. Although it is claimed not to be transmitted by seed, my own experience of BSD leads me to question this. I hope I’m proved wrong. After discussing this possibility, a seedling grower and I visited various farms and inspected the infected crops. One farmer was conducting a large trial of varieties from a European country.

Now, invariably, you find a few infected plants in a cluster, indicating that a vector has transmitted the pathogen to a plant. From there, the disease (or vector) spreads to adjoining plants. Alternately, the plant can be infected from the start and the disease can be spread to the other plants via a vector.

Strange infection patterns

By contrast, we discovered the following in the land we inspected: The trial area, comprising many thousands of plants, was unaffected; there were infected plants in the lands on either side of the trial area; only single plants were infected here, and not clusters, as might be expected.

No vector could have accounted for this pattern. In an area occupied by a number of adjoining cabbage farmers, some had a 30% to 40% infection in one land but no infection at all in another land a few hundred metres away. If there is a vector, this suggests it does not travel far. Yet the outbreak occurred virtually simultaneously in areas far apart. (Some isolated growers produce their own seedlings as well.)

The first symptoms are a reddening of the leaves and/or stunting, which is especially severe if the plant is very young. A mature infected plant may look normal apart from the colour, but if you cut through the stem you will find a ring of black tissue. This extends through the conducting tissue in the head. The head may be marketable but the customer is likely to complain once she has cut it open. The disease is more destructive in winter, with some areas being more affected than others.

Treatment

In the absence of more thorough knowledge on the subject, my advice to farmers is to go through their lands every two weeks and chop out each plant showing symptoms of BSD. This will reduce the amount of infected material. As leaf hoppers are currently the prime suspects as vectors, speak to your pest control rep about an insecticide to control this and other cabbage pests.  When a badly infected land has been cut, it would probably help to spray a harsh chemical such as parathion, chlorophos or a pyrethroid. Next, work the residue into the soil to kill infected vectors still feeding on leaves left on the plants.

Removing weeds

It is also a good idea to apply herbicide to any weedy areas around the land. Until we know what the pathogen is and have more information on the disease, we cannot rule out the possibility of a weed species being a symptomless reservoir for the pathogen. Getting rid of weeds is any case good practice as they breed pests and diseases that affect other crops as well.

Source: Bill Kerr (http://www.farmersweekly.co.za)

Good point: Can the FRESH PRODUCE markets survive? - Buen punto: Pueden sobrevivir las ferias FRUTIHORTÍCOLAS minoristas?

Small municipal markets are not supported by their local councils, and unless some serious ‘repair work’ is done they will continue down the slippery slope to oblivion.

 

Fresh produce market in Durban (http://opencityprojects.com)

 

In the 1940s, there were about 135 fresh produce markets scattered around South Africa. Almost every dorp had a market.

With improved roads, farmers and buyers could travel further afield to reach the larger urban markets, which offered more variety.

Today, there are only 24 markets in the country, some small and other very large. But the practice of bypassing the smaller markets and focusing on the larger ones continues apace. Another challenge faced by local fresh produce markets is that supermarkets and other major buyers tend to buy as much of their produce as possible directly from farmers.

No simple answer

Despite this, markets still reflected a turnover of almost R14 billion in their last financial year. But given the state of modern fresh produce marketing, the question is, can the smaller markets survive?

There is no simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer. Some of the smaller municipal markets clearly do not have a bright future. In general, they are not supported by their local councils, and unless some serious ‘repair work’ is done they will continue down the slippery slope to oblivion.

On the other hand, there are one or two privately owned markets that are surviving and even growing. Some, like the George Market in the south-western Cape, are strategically located and should flourish in the years ahead. The recent launch of two regional markets in Limpopo – one near Polokwane and one at Mooketsi – injects another dynamic into the marketing mix. Both are doing well and look set to go from strength to strength.

Going full circle?

Can this model be repeated successfully elsewhere? And if so, does that mean the wheel is turning full circle and we’re going back to the heydays of 70 years ago? It’s unlikely that we’ll reach 135 markets again, but we might see a clutch of these regional markets opening in strategic areas.

Markets have been with mankind since the dawn of time and I have no doubt they will be around for many years yet, but we must expect them to change as circumstances dictate.

Source:Mike Cordes ( http://www.farmersweekly.co.za) and http://www.freshplaza.com

 

BLACKBERRY: Seasonal variation in mineral nutrient content of primocane-fruiting leaves - ZARZAMORA: Variación estacional en el contenido de nutrientes minerales de hojas de cañas primocane en fructificación

Primocane-fruiting blackberry (Rubus L. subgenus Rubus, Watson) cultivars, Prime-Jan® and Prime-Jim®, grown only for a primocane crop, were studied for 2 years to evaluate whether this type of blackberry should be sampled at a certain stage of development or time of season to best evaluate plant nutrient status.

Photo: http://www.marinagardencenter.com

Leaves were sampled every 2 weeks from a primocane height of ≈0.75 m in spring through fruit harvest in autumn and were analyzed to determine concentration of macro- and micronutrients. Primocanes were summer pruned at 1.4 m, by hedging to a height of 1.0 m, to induce branching, a standard commercial practice. Leaf nutrient concentration was related to stage of primocane growth and development and whether the leaves originated on the main cane or on the branches that resulted from summer pruning. Nutrient concentration of leaves sampled on the main primocane from early growth in spring until early branch growth in summer was significantly affected by cultivar, year, and week for most nutrients.

When leaf sampling occurred on the older leaves of the main cane (for 4 weeks after hedging), the concentration of Ca, Mg, B, Fe, Mn, and Al increased, likely a result of the relative immobility of most of these nutrients. When samples were taken on primocane branches, leaf N, Mg, S, B (2009 only), Fe, Mn, Cu (2009 only), Zn, and Al concentrations did not differ between samples taken 6–8 weeks after summer pruning or hedging. Leaf K and Ca were more stable when sampling was done from weeks 8 to 10 (early bloom to green/early red fruit).

There was a significant difference in leaf P among all weeks sampled during this period. A sample date corresponding to early green fruit stage (week 8) would thus likely provide the best compromise for assessing plant nutrient status in this crop. During this stage of development the nutrient concentrations measured for both cultivars and years, were within the present recommended nutrient sufficiency levels for other blackberry and raspberry crops for all except leaf K and P which were below current standards.

 

The results suggest leaf sampling primocane-fruiting blackberry at the early green fruit stage (about 8 weeks after summer pruning) rather than a particular calendar date. The present leaf sufficiency range for P and K may need to be lowered for this crop. In addition, sampling cultivars separately for tissue analysis would still be advised to better manage nutrient programs.

Sources: www.hortdaily.com, http://hortsci.ashspublications.org