Raspberries and blackberries are the main research targets in the berry category
Fruit Today Euromagazine talked to Eduardo Aguirre, new Product Manager for this category at Planasa.
“Although raspberries continue being the company’s keystone, in the near future we are going to see a considerable variety improvement in blackberries, which is likely to cause this product to take off for Planasa,” the executive comments.
“The development of new selections that improve the unique competitive characteristics of Adelita, which can provide relevant improvements, will be continued by the company, but right now the blackberry is our greatest challenge.” It has some very good results in R&D+I and “it is very likely that some of the advanced selections with which we have been experimenting for some time may come into production in the short term.”
The raspberry research lines that Planasa is currently working on are aimed at improving the commercial varieties (Adelita and Lupita), focusing on a reduction in production costs (greater concentration of production and ease of harvesting) and on the improvement of the fruit’s shelf life or post harvest.
The raspberry club
For its programme with Adelita, Planasa has a five-member club for the Spanish, Portuguese and Moroccan markets, amongst which are three producers (Cuna de Platero, Frutas Borja and Arofa) and two marketers (Soloberry and Surberry).
With regard to Adelita’s younger sister, Lupita, Planasa is strongly convinced that it will end up being an important variety in Southern Europe and Morocco. “Over the past two years we have seen a rather significant percentage increase in plantations and, in the opinion of many farmers, it is a very interesting variety since it complements Adelita at the beginning and the end of the campaign.”
Over the next year, Planasa, which has become a new shareholder of the Chinese company Yunnan Meiming this year and acquired the American company Norcal Nursery (turning Planasa into the largest nursery in the United States), is aspiring to extend its product range (blackberries and blueberries), to continue its international expansion, analysing new opportunities in strategic countries and to develop a vertical integration with the fruit and vegetable production on up and coming markets (China, Mexico, Morocco…).
