Giropoma attends the Summer Fruit Day organized by the Institute of Agrifood Research and Technology

Giropoma has attended the Summer Fruit Day that took place on August 3, 2023 at the Institute of Agri-Food Research and Technology (IRTA) Mas Badia in Tallada d’Empordà. A technical conference organized by the reference institute of the agri-food sector in Catalonia to kick off the harvest of Gala apples.

In this edition, several innovation topics were discussed, the novelties in relation to Gala apple selections, tree conduction systems and the state of pests and diseases.

In addition, part of the information presented was the result of the “DEMO GALA CLONES”, “DEMO FRUITSCAN” and “DEMO TRAINING SYSTEMS” demonstrations, innovative activities that test the viability or operation, under real conditions, of production systems, technologies and organizational systems that can represent a substantial improvement in the competitiveness or environmental sustainability of agricultural, livestock or forestry farms, the agri-food industry or food handicraft activities, and the “PICKBEST” and “POMELIFE” Operational Groups, associations of several partners with common interests around a specific and practical innovation project.

The day began with his presentation and continued with a tour of the field stations. The tour began with the “Demo Gala: new selections of the Gala variety and harvesting protocols for quality improvement” and the “Demo training systems in apple trees: walls and multi-axis“, with Joaquim Carbó and Jaume Lordan, experts from IRTA.

Next, other IRTA experts, Adriana Escudero, Pere Vilardell and Jordi Cabrefiga, spoke about the current situation of Halyomorpha halys or bernat mabrejat in Girona, an insect of Asian origin that has become a pest that mainly affects fruit trees, ornamentals, horticultural and extensive crops, and the status of Glomerella, a fungal plant pathogen that causes fruit rot diseases.

Then, Miguel Ángel Fuentes from NATURA Montfred presented the first results of the Operational Group “GO PomeLife: renaturation in apple tree plantations“, and Glòria Àvila, expert from IRTA, those of “GO Pickbest: the Golden best harvested“.

Finally, the companies Green Atlas and Agerpix showed artificial vision technologies for the management of thinning and crop estimation in fruit plantations, and Spedo, Niubó and Industrias David, the latest tools for mechanical weeding.

A day with more than 140 attendees that marks the beginning of the 2023 campaign. “It is a day of reference, and without a doubt, the expectations of the participants are always met. The main companies and professionals in the fruit sector in Girona and the rest of Catalonia attend, with the aim of keeping up to date with new developments, assessing problems…. And, therefore, it is a good time to weave synergies, share impressions and promote relationships with other professionals in the sector and IRTA experts,” shares Àlex Riuró, head of the Quality, Occupational Risk Prevention and Human Resources department at Giropoma.