Event – Giropoma

Giropoma attends the 41st Fruit Growing Conference organized by IRTA

On February 18, Giropoma attended the 41st Fruit Growing Conference organized by the Institute of Research and Technology in Agro-Food (IRTA) in La Tallada d’Empordà, a key technical event for apple production professionals. The conference brought together researchers, technicians, and companies from the sector to share knowledge and experiences in response to new production and plant health challenges.

According to the official program, one of the featured presentations addressed the physiology of bitter pit and practical strategies to reduce its incidence, delivered by Bernardita Sallato from Washington State University. This disorder remains one of the main challenges affecting fruit quality and storage performance.

New findings were also presented on varieties, rootstocks, and training systems, along with advances in thinning management and fruit monitoring using on-board cameras, highlighting the growing role of technology and digitalization in modern fruit growing.

The conference also shared the first results in regenerative fruit growing (2023–2025), focusing on practices aimed at improving soil health, biodiversity, and farm sustainability. In this context, the importance of habitat restoration for pollinators was emphasized as a key factor in optimizing production.

Finally, the technical session on Glomerella in apple trees, with shared experiences between Sud Tirol and Girona, provided a comparative perspective on plant protection control strategies applied in different regions.

Through its participation in this event, Giropoma reaffirms its commitment to continuous training, innovation, and knowledge transfer, essential elements for advancing toward a more efficient, sustainable, and competitive apple production model.

Giropoma’s Joya apple awarded the 2026 Flavor of the Year seal

2026 has begun with great news for Giropoma: our Joya apple has been awarded the 2026 Flavor of the Year seal, a distinction that highlights its organoleptic quality and the satisfaction of consumers who have already had the opportunity to taste this exclusive variety.

What the flavor of the year seal represents

The Flavor of the Year seal is a quality distinction granted directly by consumers after blind taste tests. During these evaluations, participants assess key aspects such as taste, texture, aroma, and overall impression, without knowing the brand. This process guarantees objective recognition, based solely on the real consumption experience.

Obtaining this seal means that the product has successfully met the standards of excellence established by the organization and has been highly rated by the public.

Giropoma, the only producer of joya in spain

Giropoma is currently the only producer of the Joya variety in Spain, making this apple a distinctive offering within the national market. It is grown following strict quality, sustainability, and proximity criteria — values that are part of our DNA.

Commercialization begins this month

This very month, we have officially launched the new Joya apple campaign, bringing to market a fruit that stands out not only for its quality but also for its recent recognition. The start of the season is therefore strengthened by this seal that endorses its excellence.

Joya is an apple that captivates both inside and out. Its main characteristics include:

A well-balanced flavor, with a very pleasant combination of sweetness and acidity
A crisp and juicy texture that remains stable until consumption
An attractive appearance, with bright reddish tones
Great versatility, ideal both for fresh consumption and culinary uses

This combination of attributes has played a decisive role in its positive evaluation during consumer tastings.

The 2026 Flavor of the Year seal adds to the 2024 Flavor of the Year recognition previously received by Giropoma, further consolidating a trajectory marked by excellence and commitment to quality.

This new distinction encourages us to continue working with the same dedication as always, focusing on differentiated varieties and offering apples that truly stand out for their flavor.

Giropoma attends the 25th edition of POMATEC 2025, the Technical-Economic Conference on Apples

Giropoma attended the 25th edition of POMATEC 2025, held on Friday, November 28, 2025, at the Montgrí Cinema in Torroella de Montgrí. This conference, organized by Afrucat, the Torroella de Montgrí City Council, and the Manzana de Girona Protected Geographical Indication, brought together producers, technicians, and professionals from the fruit sector in a landmark event dedicated to analyzing the main challenges and economic opportunities of apple cultivation.

The conference was opened by Jordi Colomí, mayor of Torroella de Montgrí; representatives of the Provincial Council of Girona and the Department of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries, and Food of the Government of Catalonia; and the president of Afrucat.

The event began with a presentation by Philippe Binard, president of Freshfel, who analyzed the evolution of the apple harvest in Europe, highlighting the current market situation, the main production areas, and the factors that have influenced the 2025 season.

This was followed by a round table discussion moderated by Manel Simon, CEO of Afrucat, in which several international experts such as Marc Peyres (Blue Whale, France), Vincent Guérin (ANPP, France), Joan Serentill (Afrucat and FEPEX, Spain), Ivan Elies (Nufresco, Spain), and Juan Francisco Rivera-Úrdaz (VIP, Italy) shared their views on the results of the previous season and the forecasts for the new season.

After the break, Marc Peyres presented his paper “Apples in the world: where is the global market heading?”, in which he analyzed the structural and commercial changes that will shape the future of the sector worldwide, with particular emphasis on varietal diversification and new international trade flows.

Next, Frank Maas, scientist and expert in fruit tree propagation, provided an update on the current state of European nurseries and emerging trends in varietal renewal and production planning.

To close the program, Joan Maria Pareta, from Novafrut, presented his paper “Protect to produce: innovation in crop protection systems,” focusing on the importance of adapting protection systems to climate change and extreme weather events to ensure the quality and sustainability of crops.

Giropoma’s participation in this event reaffirms its commitment to training, innovation, and sustainability, which are essential for the future of the apple sector in the Girona region and Catalonia as a whole. Technical and commercial representatives from the company attended to closely follow the economic and technological trends that will shape the new season.

POMATEC 2025 has once again established itself as a forum for knowledge and debate among producers, technicians, companies, and institutions, reaffirming the importance of collaboration and innovation in ensuring the competitiveness of the fruit sector.

Giropoma participates in Fruit Attraction 2025, which unveiled new pavilions and highlighted innovation and sustainability

Giropoma has participated once again in the Fruit Attraction 2025 Fair, which was held in Madrid from September 30 to October 2. This is one of the most important events worldwide for the marketing of fruit and vegetables and has established itself as a strategic meeting point for operators, retailers, and professionals in the sector.

This year’s edition stood out for the addition of new pavilions, a new feature that has made it possible to expand the exhibition area and improve the division into geographical areas. Fruit Attraction thus reinforces its role as a driver of commercial connections at a key moment for planning campaigns and opening new markets.

Innovation and knowledge at the heart of the fair

With the premises of marketing, innovation, quality, and knowledge, Fruit Attraction 2025 has presented itself as the promotional tool par excellence for the fruit and vegetable sector, with the aim of boosting international activity and enhancing interaction between all players in the value chain.

One of the most notable areas was the Innovation Hub, which brought together the latest developments and the best products and services from exhibitors. This area also hosted the Innovation Hub Awards, which recognize the most disruptive solutions in the sector.

New this year were the Best Stand Awards, which recognized the most surprising, innovative, and sustainable spaces, as voted on by attendees.

Since its inception, Giropoma has been present at the Fruit Attraction Fair, which has become an ideal space for strengthening customer relationships, establishing synergies, and exploring new business opportunities. Participation in the 2025 edition reaffirms the company’s commitment to innovation, quality, and internationalization, three key points for addressing the current challenges facing the fruit and vegetable sector.

The Summer Fruit Conference and the presentation ceremony for the first apple from Girona mark the start of the 2025 harvest

Giropoma attended the Summer Fruit Conference once again this year, the leading technical meeting for the sector, held on August 6 at the Mas Badia Institute for Agrifood Research and Technology (IRTA) in La Tallada d’Empordà.

This edition brought together professionals from the sector to learn first-hand about the latest results of research and innovation projects. New selections of the Gala variety and early varieties were presented, along with strategies for controlling dormancy in situations where there are insufficient hours of cold weather, and solutions for combating gray aphids and Glomerella. New technologies were also showcased, such as InterraScan for soil mapping, variable applications of plant protection products, on-board cameras for monitoring size, and digital tools such as FruitMeasureApp and Miramiro.

The following day, August 7, the company attended the symbolic ceremony marking the harvest of the first Girona Apple 2025, organized by the Girona Apple Protected Geographical Indication, also at IRTA Mas Badia. At this event, which officially marks the start of the harvest, a forecast of 89,370 tons was announced, highlighting the optimal quality of the fruit and the ongoing varietal renewal. The ceremony was attended by institutional and industry representatives, with painter Lluís Roura as the guest of honor.

These two events reaffirm Giropoma’s commitment to innovation, quality, and the promotion of Girona apples, combining tradition and new technologies to maintain the competitiveness and prestige of the product everywhere.

Giropoma reaffirms its commitment to innovation by attending the 40th Fruit Day organized by IRTA

One more year, Giropoma has attended the 40th Jornada Fructícola organized by the Institute of Agrifood Research and Technology in La Tallada d’Empordà. This event has established itself as an unmissable event for professionals in the fruit sector, focusing on sustainable apple production and sharing the latest technological and scientific advances.

During the session, which took place this February 26, 2025, several experts have addressed key issues for the fruit sector. Carlota Gonzalez, IRTA researcher, was in charge of kicking off the presentations, analyzing how variations in the accumulation of chilling hours affect the dormancy and flowering of apple trees in the Girona region.

For their part, researchers Luis Gonzalez and Jaume Lordan, also from IRTA, presented a commented presentation on the most interesting apple varieties. They highlighted new varieties that offer improvements in quality, flavor and disease resistance, crucial aspects for growers seeking to adapt to market demands and changing climatic conditions.

Next, Lee Kalsits, from the University of Washington, delved into the role of rootstocks in calcium management, an essential element to prevent physiological disorders such as “bitter pit” in apples. In addition, Glòria Àvila and Luis Gonzalez, from IRTA, reviewed effective calcium application strategies to control this physiopathy, providing practical recommendations for growers.

In the field of diseases, Bertrand Alison, from CTIFL/SudExpé, presented experiences and results in the control of Colletotrichum in France, while Jordi Cabrefiga, from IRTA, presented local experiences in the management of Glomerella in Girona, offering valuable perspectives for growers in the region.

This day has provided updated knowledge and practical tools to face present and future challenges in apple production. Giropoma‘s participation in this event reflects its commitment to innovation and sustainability in apple production.

Giropoma participates in the Fruit Attraction Fair, which this year focuses on technological innovation in the sector

Giropoma has participated for the sixteenth consecutive year in the Fruit Attraction 2024 Fair that took place in Madrid from the 8th to the 10th of October. This event has become the commercial tool of reference for the global marketing of fruit and vegetables. It is therefore the commercial connection point for all the professionals that make up the value chain, given its capacity to promote world exports in the sector, as well as having established itself as a framework for innovation in the fruit and vegetable market. The event is organised by IFEMA MADRID and FEPEX with Andalusia as Guest Region.

As a new feature of this edition, special importance has been given to the Innova&Tech area dedicated to innovation and development of the most innovative techniques and products that help fruit and vegetable production to successfully face several current challenges such as sustainability, water management or increased production. In this sense, the new area has had the Biotech Attraction and Smart Agro sectors, being a space that has been destined to innovation, research and technological development companies in agrobiology/plant biotechnology and to innovative producers that apply information technologies to the sector (applications, YATE, big data, monitoring, automation, digitalisation, etc.).

This year’s edition has registered the highest participation in history with 2,146 exhibitor companies from 56 different countries, which represents an increase of 7% compared to last year, and more than 70 square kilometres of exhibition space spread over 10 pavilions, with an attendance of more than 100,000 professionals from 145 countries, according to data from Fruit Attraction. This year the “guest importing countries ’ were China and Saudi Arabia. With this, the fair has opened up trade relations with these markets.

In this sense, it is shown that the international segment has registered an important growth, with 45% of the total occupancy of the fair and with the incorporation of 102 companies. Giropoma has been one of the exhibitors present at the fair since its inception and, since then, it has been an ideal space to strengthen relationships with its customers, create synergies, establish business relationships and share impressions.

Giropoma kicks off the 2024 harvest with the traditional summer Fruit Day and the symbolic act of the first apple of Girona

One more year, Giropoma has attended the Summer Fruit Day, the traditional technical day dedicated to apple trees, which took place last August 7, 2024 at the Institute of Agri-Food Research and Technology (IRTA) Mas Badia in Tallada d’Empordà.

In this year’s edition, we had the opportunity to visit ongoing trials related to crop technology, as well as the guided exhibition of varieties and apple tasting. We were also able to observe several innovations in machinery dedicated to counting flowers and fruit through artificial vision, to optimize phytosanitary treatments with variable atomization system and to pick apples by aspiration.

In addition, part of the information presented was the result of the “FRUITSCAN” and “DRIVE SYSTEMS” demonstrations; and of the “PICKBEST”, “SCABKILL” and “POMELIFE” Operational Groups, associations of several partners with common interests around a specific and practical innovation project.

During the tour of the day’s field stations, we learned about high density training systems in replanting situation and G.41 rootstock; new selections of the Gala variety; the differences between organic materials in nitrogen mineralization; the Demo FruitScan, artificial vision technologies for thinning management and crop estimation in plantations. new selections of the Gala variety; the differences between organic materials in nitrogen mineralization; the Demo FruitScan, artificial vision technologies for thinning management and crop estimation in fruit orchards, in collaboration with Vivid machines and CClair; GO PICKBEST, results of the best harvested Gala and Golden apples and new tools to measure ripening; GO SCABKILL, precision treatments and other strategies to rationalize the use of phytosanitary products; GO POMELIFE, renaturation as a tool for vole management; and the apple harvesting machine for industry, PomAvall project, in collaboration with PomAvall Harvesting Solutions.

A week later, the symbolic event of the harvest of the first Girona apple 2024 took place at IRTA Mas Badia, the annual event organized by the Protected Geographical Indication Poma de Girona to mark the start of the Gala pome harvest.

Although it continues to be a year marked by the drought and high temperatures of the season, it is expected a harvest higher than the previous year with 96,290 tons, being the second highest production after that of 2021.

Two traditional events attended by the main companies and professionals of the fruit sector of Girona and the rest of Catalonia, to know the current situation of the sector, the challenges, the novelties… as well as to create links and synergies with the rest of professionals.

Giropoma attends the 39th Fruit Day organized by the Institute of Agri-Food Research and Technology

On Thursday, February 22, 2024, Giropoma attended the 39th Fruit Day, organized annually by the Institute of Agrifood Research and Technology (IRTA) at Mas Badia in Tallada d’Empordà. A meeting point to address the challenges and responsibilities that fall on farmers and how to produce food, as well as to learn about various tools to move towards a more efficient and sustainable apple production system.

During the technical day, aspects of plant material, varieties, rootstocks, thinning, harvesting, pests and fungicide treatment management, among others, were discussed. In addition, part of the information presented is the result of the INIA projects “VUMOC” PID2019-109686RR-100, the demonstration activity “DEMO FRUITSCAN” and the Operational Groups SKABKILL and PICKBEST (Operation 16.01.01 of Cooperation for Innovation of the Rural Development Program of Catalonia 2014-2022).

The session was led by Joaquim Carbó and Jaume Lordan, both experts from IRTA, with a commented presentation on the most interesting apple varieties. Next, Stefano Musacchi, guest expert from Washington State University, spoke about the Geneva series rootstocks in the state of Washington.

Regarding the new tools for flower and fruit thinning, Luis González, expert from IRTA, together with others, Glòria Àvila and Adriana Escudero, spoke about which are the ideal Golden and Gala apples for the consumer and how to get them, as well as several tools to control the bernat marbrejat (Halyomorpha halys) in apple trees, respectively.

To close the day, Jordi Cabrefiga from IRTA, presented several strategies to deal with flecking, alternate and glomerella.

About a hundred people interested in apple growing gathered at this event to continue working on a sustainable and quality apple production.

Fruit Logistica in Berlin, the reference fair of the fruit and vegetable sector and innovation where Giropoma has attended

From 7 to 9 February 2024, Giropoma has participated in the Fruit Logistica Fair in Berlin. For more than 15 years the company has been present at the world event of the fruit and vegetable sector, an ideal space to strengthen relationships with customers, create synergies and business connections and share opinions.

Innovation is the essence of this world leading fair, which annually brings together the fruit and vegetable sector throughout its value chain, from the producer to the point of sale, including the product, machinery, technology, logistics, automation and digitization, among others.

This year’s edition, under the theme “The heartbeat of the Fresh Produce Business“, showcased more innovative products and solutions. Intelligent agricultural machinery and irrigation systems or fruit varieties resistant to common diseases, were some of the innovations that have been highlighted at this year’s fair.

Giropoma, within the stand of the Protected Geographical Indication Poma de Girona, made available to the attendees corporate information and a sample of the main formats that are marketed. The director, Àlex Creixell, as well as members of the company’s sales team could also be found there. “We have been coming to Fruit Logistica for many years to show our product, with the PGI Poma de Girona, which at the European level has a very important recognition of quality,” shared Creixell.

As for this year’s participation, the figures have been higher than the previous year, since it has been characterized by an increase in exhibition space. This year 2024 has broken a new record with more than 2,770 exhibitors from 94 countries from all continents and more than 66,000 visitors from 145 countries around the world.

This very positive trend in figures shows the increased interest in the sector and high expectations for the next edition, which will take place from February 5 to 7, 2025.