This year marks an important date owing to the merger of the two companies from the group: Frutas de la Sierra Espuña and PSB Producción Vegetal. Today, the company grouping together the two activities, production and hybridisation, has taken the name of the latter.
The company has over 350 hectares of production and its activity is closely focused on the current market demands, which allows it to develop varieties that are highly developed, both for the producers and for distribution.
The celebration of this anniversary coincides with the extension of its infrastructures and the installation of a new state-of-the-art calibrating machine.
25 years ago, PSB, a scientific family-run company, started hybridisation work for different stone fruit species (apricots, nectarines, peaches, flat peaches, plums, and cherries) and today it continues to extend its variety calendar with very strict selection criteria: colour and shape, tolerance against diseases such as Sharka, ECA, xanthomonas, bacteria, monilia, etc. It also takes into consideration criteria such as productivity, ease and handling of the fruit in the warehouse, and the geographical adaptation of the fruit, depending on its cold requirements…
Top criterion: taste
However, although all the selection criteria for new varieties are taken into account, the most important one and with the highest valuation is taste.
Historically, the research carried out by the Buffat family has been based on very detailed studies to obtain the best flavour in all their varieties, as only through good flavour can a contribution be made to increase fruit consumption in the summer.
“We have been introducing new varieties of early and extra-early sweeter nectarines for the past five years, which are going to allow us to increase consumption in a relatively complicated period in certain areas of Europe. From the 20th of April to the 20th of May, we had acid, but balanced tasting nectarines on the market, but now with Copacabana, Altamira, Diamentina, Caracas, Ipanema and Boreal, we have a sub-acid range, with a very good organoleptic requirement for the time of year,” Stéphane Buffat, Manager of PSB Producción Vegetal affirms.
Thanks to their own stone fruit production and marketing, PSB knows about the stone fruit market and its demands. This convergence allows PSB to be a purchase and satisfaction reference in its varieties, as they present fruit with a unique and exceptional flavour, which is also associated to an attractive presentation.
Furthermore, PSB Producción Vegetal is developing a range of flat nectarines. The varieties Luisella, CN64-1 (medium low chilling), Tintosa, Canoppe, Cookie and CN592-15 (for cold regions), all stand out.
“We have great expectations for Canoppe and Tintosa, which are expected to develop very well. This new range has a more intense flavour with many aromas, and it has the great advantage of being very easy to eat due to the flat shape and ideal size. Additionally, some of our flat nectarine varieties have tolerance to diseases such as monilia or xanthomonas, allowing excessive fumigations to be avoided and, consequently, bearing healthier fruit, which is the new paradigm for the next few years,” sources from the company assert.
Reducing plant protection products
One of the company’s new challenges is the reduction in the use of plant protection products. “This factor makes up a general raising of awareness and a global challenge,” according to executives from the company, Philippe Buffat and Thomas Chevalier.
Another of their priorities is to aim their research towards the adaptation of new varieties to climate change: “Experts are talking about a change of 1 to 2 degrees, and we as farmers and scientists are seeing a more sudden, more radical change right now. All the varieties that are being studied must be adapted to the climate that we are going to have in Murcia in 10 years’ time.”
The company’s experimental fields will be open both in Murcia and in Lerida over the next few months and anyone who is interested in discovering their new varieties may visit them by contacting thomas@psbproduccionvegetal.com
