On the 18th of January of this year, an open day was held for the Leanri mandarin in the town of Orihuela
Ildefonso Riquelme, a farmer from the Levant region, hosted a large number of producers at an open day, giving explanations regarding the goodness and the handling of this new mandarin, introduced to Spain in 2016.
Riquelme started the day with some words of welcome, which marked the beginning of an enriching experience for all those attending.
The technical personnel from ANBGCM Material Vegetal and from CVVP offered the presentation of the variety and its current development position, followed by a debate amongst all the attending producers. “The best aspect of this variety is that it is very easy to eat due to its balanced combination of sugar and acidity. It also peels easily and does not make your hands dirty. It melts in the mouth, leaving no waste,” Charo Marín, from ANBGCM Material Vegetal explained.
The open day not only provided highly relevant technical information, it also promoted the interaction between different agents in the sector and allowed the knowledge of a young variety to be speeded up, through the exchange of experiences among the different producers.
The variety, which was introduced to Spain in 2016, reached seven million tonnes last year, and this year they will harvest around 15, with the expectation of doubling this amount next year.
It is suitable for growing from Castellón to Huelva. In the Andalusian province, they harvest in December and in Alicante, from February onwards. Another of its most prominent characteristics is its long conservation time, lasting up to two months in cold storage without losing any of its properties. This quality allows it to travel very well and to have a good supermarket shelf life.
From the production point of view, an aspect that deserves a special mention is that due to its sturdiness, Leanri requires less water resources than other varieties, as well as less fertilisers, without compromising the size of the fruit.
The next open day will take place further south, in Burguillos, on the farm belonging to Miguel Ángel Muñoz, who will also host producers from the region to discover this interesting variety.
Leanri is a protected mandarin that is managed by CVVP A.I.E., guaranteeing a solid defence against fraud and piracy, essential aspects to protect vegetable varieties.
