Time: 10 minutes, plus churning and chilling
1 1/4 cups berries (blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, blackberries combined)
2 cups heavy cream
1/3 cup sugar, plus 2 tablespoons, as needed
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons vodka.
1. In a bowl, mash berries with a fork or potato masher until just slightly chunky.
2. In a saucepan over medium-low heat, bring cream to a simmer with 1/3 cup sugar and the salt. Taste berries and if they are very tart, add 2 tablespoons sugar to saucepan. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until sugar dissolves. Transfer to a bowl, stir in vodka and place in refrigerator or in an ice bath to chill.
3. When cold, pour mixture into ice cream machine. Add berries and churn according to manufacturer’s directions. Transfer to a container and freeze until solid, at least 2 hours. Let sit at room temperature for 5 to 10 minutes before serving, or in refrigerator for 15 to 30.
Yield: About a quart.
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Del Monte Fruitini hits Tesco stores
Del Monte has announced that it is launching a new range of fruit products through an exclusive promotional campaign with UK retailer Tesco, in a bid to engage a younger audience and target school lunchboxes.
The new range of Del Monte Fruitini bags, which the group said would "reinvigorate" the fresh fruit category, are available in four varieties; Crinkly Apple Slices, Scrummy Grapes, Juicy Pineapple 'Slithers' and Luscious Melon Bites.
To back the launch of the range, Del Monte has secured an on-pack promotion with London's largest family restaurant, the Rainforest Café, offering 20 children a selection of prizes including the chance to attend a VIP Del Monte Fruitini event in October.
Del Monte noted that the Fruitini range presented a "significant opportunity" to Tesco as parents actively seek healthy, convenient snacks for children to take to school, amid growing awareness of health and obesity.
"The all encompassing fruit range provides customers, whatever their age, with an even greater choice for healthy refreshment throughout the day," said Tesco's fresh produce buyer Lance Canavan. "By ensuring that the new range is stocked alongside the best-sellers in the chillers, we hope to increase its sales potential."
The retailer will back the range in store through an initiative during August and September, which will see discount coupons on offer at point-of-sale and incentives for parents to purchase the packs during the 'back to school' period.
"Mums are looking for quality, convenient and nutritious products from a brand they can trust and as Britain's number one fruit brand Del Monte is well positioned to deliver this," added James Harvey, managing director at Del Monte UK. "The Del Monte Fruitini range offers kids a convenient way of eating fruit and what's more, they're absolutely delicious!."
The Fruitini range is stocked exclusively in Tesco stores across the UK, priced at £0.43 (€0.53) per pack.
Amazon begins selling fruit and veg online
International online retailer Amazon has begun selling groceries – including fresh fruit and vegetables – to shoppers in Germany.
The new online ordering service, which brings together products not only sold by Amazon.de itself but also a number of third-party distributors including web-based grocery specialists Froodies and Natur.com, started selling food and drinks via its website today (Thursday, 1 July).
Customers visiting the portal can choose from over 30,000 products in total, divided into 25 categories.
As well as fresh fruit and vegetables, the cyber-shoppers can are fill their virtual baskets with meat and fish, bread, sweets, snacks, cereals, wine, coffee and tea.
"The products are available from Amazon.de, as well as from more than 60 providers on the Amazon.de platform," a spokesperson for the company said.
The new store also takes into account special needs and dietary requirements, allowing visitors to filter their product search according to product category, supplier and dietary preference.
According to Amazon, the aim of the new store is to make daily grocery shopping more comfortable and attractive, enabling shoppers to find a full range of commonly purchased items quickly and conveniently in one place.
The top-selling item of fresh produce on the Froodies website, which links to Amazon.de's grocery front page, is Dole-branded bananas, followed by a four-pack of cucumbers, organic bananas, white seedless grapes and Chiquita-branded bananas.
Other top-selling products on the site include 500g mixed pepper packs, bags of organic potatoes and organic cherry tomatoes on the vine.
UN introduces new safety guidance
The food standards commission of the United Nations, Codex Alimentarius Commission, has outlined new guidance rulings to improve food safety, covering the leafy salad supply chain as well as melamine and aflatoxin content in food.
New guidelines were outlined during the 33rd session of the Commission, which took place in Geneva, Switzerland and was attended by some 500 delegates from 130 different countries.
The new Codex measures provided specific guidance for leafy green vegetable and salad production, harvesting, packing, processing, storage, distribution, marketing and consumer education to reduce food safety risks.
Guidance covered aspects including the control of irrigation water, cooling and storage, and the correct washing of hands by consumers.
"Fresh, leafy vegetables are part of a healthy diet and are grown under diverse conditions and marketed both locally and globally to provide year-round availability to consumers," the WHO said in a statement. "As these products move along the supply chain from the farm to the table, they can be contaminated by pathogens such as salmonella, e. coli and hepatitis A."
Meanwhile, limits on natural melamine occurrence in food were also tightened as part of the new Codex, while a maximum level of 10 micrograms per kg was set for aflatoxins in shelled Brazil nuts and 15 micrograms per kg for those headed for processing.
The 47-year-old Codex Alimentarius Commission is run jointly by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the World Health Organisation (WHO), setting international standards to protect the health of consumers and ensure fair practices in the food trade.
The results of its work form the Codex Alimentarius, a set of international food safety and quality standards that when introduced into national legislation contribute to the safety of food and the international food trade.
Intercitrus elects new president
Spanish interprofessional citrus association Intercitrus has elected Juan Vicente Safont as its new president at the organisation's annual assembly, held this week in Valencia.
Mr Safont, who is also president of leading Spanish fresh produce group Anecoop and replaces Jorge García from Castellon-based citrus exporter García Ballester, marked his appointment by calling for greater unity in the sector.
The new president said the Spanish citrus sector was suffering sue to a "lack of agreements" between producers - a situation that he said now needed to be tackled urgently, reports news agency EFE.
"Our competition is with countries on the other side of the Mediterranean, like Morocco or Egypt, not here – we have to correct this because the lack of agreements (among the Spanish sector) must not be permanent," he told delegates.
Such agreements, Mr Safont continued, would allow for more support to be given to producers who had most suffered the consequences of the economic crisis and who needed urgent attention.
As a first step, the new president announced that Intercitrus would produce a new contract for citrus buying and selling, which he said would reinforce the legal security of commercial transactions and guarantee product quality.
Indian grape exporters count cost
It is estimated that the chlormequat chloride issue has cost the Indian grape industry around Rs2.5bn (US$53.27m), the Times of India reported.
Shipments of Indian grapes were stopped at European ports after traces of chlormequat, a grape sizing agent not prohibited in India, were found in them.
Because the EU had no specific regulations in place for the substance, the default level of 0.05mg per kg was applied, and when grapes were found with levels in excess of that amount, the Netherlands and Germany, both major markets for Indian grapes, refused to accept the fruit.
"The state exported 46,628 tonnes of grapes in 3,750 containers. The first 700 to 800 containers were accepted by the UK and Russia and received better prices," said Jagannath Khapare, chairman of the Grape Exporters Association (GEA).
"The remaining grapes were sold at an average price of €4 (US$5.20) per kg. The importers chose to sell grapes at such lower prices to control the damage."
Mr Khapare said grape exporters from Maharashtra, India's premier grape growing state, had lodged claims for government compensation at both state and national level.
India's table grape exports were worth around US$79.56m in 2008/09, up from US$48.28m in 2005/06.
Europe keen on Dominican bananas
Banana producers in the Dominican Republic have revealed that exports of the fruit to the European market increased by 25 per cent through the first half of the year, at a value of over US$58m (€45m).
The country now expects to export some US$160m (€124m)-worth of bananas to Europe by the end of 2010, increasing yearly volumes from 280,000 tonnes in 2009 to over 300,000 tonnes, Dominican Today reported.
Northwest Valverde province banana grower Luis Bonilla confirmed that exports were expected to top the US$160m mark by the end of the campaign, noting that producers were exporting over 350 boxes to Europe each week.
"The banana sector's perspective is very good, very encouraging," he told the publication. "We're going through one of the best moments regarding banana exports and production."
Monday, July 26, 2010
Metro set for Egyptian launch
Metro AG has revealed that it will open its inaugural Egyptian wholesale outlet this month, a 10,000m2 facility located in the Cairo area that will open its doors on 30 June.
The store could be the first of up to 20 in the country, the group said, as it looks to enhance its position in the growth markets of North Africa and Middle East.
Local reports suggested that the new Makro-branded store would offer some 20,000 food and other products, with around 90 per cent of products sold originating from Egypt.
Metro said that it was considering adding a total of 20 stores in the region but did not give a specific timeline for these, with the outlet – costing around €20m – serving traders, hospitality professionals and businesses.
Potato harvest in Iceland never been better
However, there is still much of the season left and farmers don't want to celebrate too early as the harvest last summer was damaged due to frosty nights in late July, Morgunbladid reports.
Vignir Jónsson, a carrot and potato farmer at Audsholt in Flúdir, south Iceland, was the first to harvest his potatoes this summer. "I was very proud to the first," he laughed.
"This is going remarkably well; the weather is incredible. It's like it was ordered," Jónsson added. The days have been warm but the nights moist and even rainy. "The season has never been better. We can't complain about anything."
EU spends £12m employing 200 researchers to conclude fruit is good for you
An astonishing 13.8million euros - some £11.7million - has been spent on research involving 200 scientists which found that 'two apples a day keep cholesterol at bay'.
Much of the money went on developing and promoting a green-skinned EU superhero called Mr Fruitness designed to persuade children to eat more fruit.
Last night critics said such examples of profligacy go to show that the EU should not be insulated from the kind of spending cuts that member states are making.
A spokesman for Open Europe, the Eurosceptic think-tank, said: 'ridiculous spending like this just goes to show that the EU budget contains plenty of fat that can be trimmed away.
'In these tough economic times, do we really need an EU-funded superhero to tell us that fruit is healthy?'
The multi-million pound project called IsaFruit lasted four years.
When the research was unveiled at a conference in Brussels, one of the 'major findings' was said to be the best way to reduce the risks of brown rot, a fungus which attacks many types of fruit.
Apparently the best technique for peaches is to dip them in water at a temperature of 60 degrees Celsius for 20 seconds.
For apples, the temperature must be between 50 and 52 degrees Celsius.
The apple must be held under water for 40 seconds.
Scientists found that following these rules can reduce the risk of brown rot, as well as removing e coli and salmonella bacteria.
Another IsaFruit research project found that eating two apples a day can help reduce cholesterol by 10 per cent.
Researchers also 'focused on the development of new dried fruits and appealing products to increase fruit consumption among young people'.
The website set up to publicise Mr Fruitness - www.fruitness.eu - describes him as 'a superhero with special powers that come from the nutritional substances in fruit - vitamins and others; key components of an intelligent and conscious diet'.
Finland: Best potato harvest in the North
Jari Matinolli, a farmer in Tyrnävä, just south of Oulu, is happy with what he's seeing in his fields.
"It looks really good on our farm. The quality of the coming harvest is excellent and the volume is quite good. Growing conditions this summer have been optimal in our area," says Matinolli.
Production Chief Jukka Pekka Palohuhta of the Finnish Seed Potato Centre believes that overall the best and biggest harvests will be seen in the north this year.
"Southern Finland has had a rather long dry spell that has weakened the prospects of a good harvest. Further north it's rained well, so prospects are good."
Fall of production planned for avocados and citrus fruits
Production is expected to drop sharply and there has already been a 20 % rise in fruit and vegetable prices.
Chile's National Federation of Fruit Producers (Fedefruta) confirmed that in certain regions, avocados and citrus fruits (mainly oranges) have been severely affected, as much as 30 to 40 % of producing orchards.
US (OR): Extreme heat could damage pears, growers say
Farmers say that if temperatures exceed 105 degrees the pears can get sunburned, damaging the fruit.
They say there is also a pest known as the spider mite which thrives in hot temperatures. It defoliates pear trees and affects the crop.
Some farmers are planning to spray trees with a substance that works as a sunblock to protect the fruit. They also plan to use extra water to keep the trees hydrated.
"When it gets very hot the tree closes its little breathing holes on the leaves and it does suppress growth," Oregon State University Professor David Sugar said.
Pear farmers say there is one positive to the high heat. It can kill off fireblight, a disease which plagues pear trees.
US: High tunnels are becoming mainstays
"For small- and mid-scale farms, the high tunnel is beginning to be as much a mainstay as the tractor," Montri said during an interview while he was leading a high tunnel building workshop as part of a Practical Farmers of Iowa Field Day at Tammy and Rob Faux's Tripoli farm.
Sally Worley, PFI communications director and horticulture program director, said that a high tunnel is a passive solar greenhouse that allows farmers to expand their growing season and improve profitability.
Montri taught participants how to construct a movable high tunnel that can be used year-round without supplemental light or heat. Representatives from Four Season Tools helped with the construction and answered questions about their products.
Worley said the workshop shows farmers who want to put up a high tunnel what it takes to organize a build.
Montri said lots of high tunnels are going up. The oldest ones were built in the 1980s.
"Growers like Eliot Coleman had structures whether it was greenhouses or overwintering nurseries and they noticed that there were green weeds growing in the coldest months, and they thought if weeds could grow in the winter why not crops," Montri said. "In the past few years high tunnel building has exploded."
High tunnels increase farm viability because farmers can grow premium crops in winter and have more stable income.
With the growing interest in local food, consumers want to buy local produce throughout the year, Montri said.
USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service launched a three-year pilot program earlier this year to provide cost-share funding to farmers who want to use high tunnels, said Worley. The Fauxes are participating in the program.
NRCS will fund one high tunnel per farm through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program. To sign up or learn more about EQIP assistance, contact a local NRCS office.
Greg Garbos, president of Four Season Tools in Kansas City, said he and Mike Bollinger, a Decorah farmer, were inspired to start the company by Eliot Coleman, author of the Four Season Harvest, the Winter Harvest Handbook and The New Organic Grower.
A Maine farmer, Coleman developed organic farming systems on his Four Season Farm that allow him to grow food for the local market all year. Movable high-tunnels are at the center of that system, Garbos said.
The focus at Four Season Tools is small-scale organic farms, Garbos said. Movable high tunnels are their niche. The company also offers farm development consultation and implements suited to small farms.
An estimated 35 to 40 people were involved in some aspect of building the Faux Farms' high tunnel. Participants came from Missouri, Wisconsin, Minnesota, western and north central Iowa as well as locally.
Shelley Cords-Swanson of Odin, Minn., came to the field day with her friend Sara Hanson of Wesley. Hanson bought a high tunnel kit and she, Cords-Swanson and other friends plan to put it up.
"We came to learn about the process," Cords-Swanson said. "The hands-on experience is great. I have a lot better idea of how this goes together, what tools we need and the number of people we need."
Hanson, who manages Fresh Connections Food Co-op in Algona, plans to raise vegetables in her high tunnel.
French fruit production dropping greatly this year
In the apple harvest compared to 2009 a production decline of 1,657 million tonnes is expected, a decline of 5 percent compared to 2009 and 4 percent less than the last 5 years. The pear production will probably plummet 8 percent to 173,100 this is even 12 percent less than the previous 5 years. Notwithstanding the low prices and the crisis in 2010 the cherry production dropped on average by 17 percent.
The peaches and nectarine production decreased by 10 percent compared to the average, to 320,000 tonnes. The apricot production has dropped the most, 19 percent compared to the five year average. and the production in 2009 was even 34 percent higher.
Morocco: citrus export risen 485,000 tonnes
Especially the small fruits (mandarins and clementines) are important for the export, the export of those grew by 10 percent to 322,413 tonnes. Mainly the volume of the clementine has grown, the volumes grew by 13 percent from 180,250 tonnes to 204,000 tonnes. This is shown in the statistics from the export control organisation EACCE. The orange sale however did not go well. The volume dropped by 13 percent to 158,140 tonnes.
Moreover, the tomato showed the biggest drop, 24 percent, to 317,426 tonnes.
Friday, July 23, 2010
Chiquita Italia unveils new campaign
Employing a simple, versatile and engaging format, the campaign's first round kicks off in August and will depict a fully grown banana with two Chiquita labels being asked for one of them by a smaller, evidently younger and, by implication, less mature banana.
In response to the younger banana's question "Why do you have two stickers?", the 'adult' fruit will reply: "It's for you, if you're good."
According to Chiquita, the road to obtaining the blue label is long and arduous. To merit the sticker, it says, its fruit must pass strict quality checks.
Maurizio Pisani, director of marketing at Chiquita Italia, said he believed the new camapign would set exactly the right kind of tone in its communication with Italian consumers.
"The idea put forward to us by Forchets fits in perfectly with the personality of the brand and the frank, direct tone which has always distinguished Chiquita's marketing," he commented.
"It also allows us to explain to consumers that Chiquita is synonymous with high quality fruit thanks to the production standards we apply and the strong selectivity we employ at every stage of the supply process," he added.
Fabrizio Ferrero De Michelis, executive creative director and founder of Forchets, said his company was "proud and honoured" to be able to work with Chiquita.
"Chiquita is one of the historic brands when it comes to Italian advertising," he said. "It's an assignment that makes us doubly happy, not only because it confirms Forchets is growing but also because of the campaign's winning idea, which conveys well our beliefs about what makes effective and efficient marketing, namely simplicity and clarity across all media."
India: Rains hit supplies, hike vegetable prices
Latest data from the National Horticulture Board (NHB), which tracks the daily arrivals and price movement of major fruits and vegetables across major cities shows that the rains have severely hampered the supply of fresh vegetables from the producing centre to the markets.
The increase in diesel prices and subsequent hike in freight rates has also pushed up transportation cost for intra-state and intra-district movement of vegetables from one market to another.
Prices of tomatoes one of the most commonly consumed commodities across the country has almost doubled in July as compared to the same period last year.
In Delhi, the average retail price of tomatoes has jumped by more than Rs 3 per kilogram to almost 32 per kg.
This is around Rs 10 per kg more than the average price of tomatoes during the same time last year. Infact, in some places in Delhi, tomatoes are selling at almost Rs 60 per kg.
The big culprit here is the supplies. Average daily arrival of tomatoes dropped by around 32% in July in Delhi, pushing up prices sharply. Similarly, is the case in other cities as well.
In Chennai, supplies of tomatoes have dropped from an average of 5,950 tonne to around 3,300 tonne from last year, pushing up the average retail price by almost double as compared to the same in 2009. In Mumbai, too, supplies of tomatoes have dropped by 32% as compared to July 2009.
Tomato prices are up because supplies were disrupted due to floods in Punjab and Haryana.
However, there is no cause for concern as prices would fall because of improvement in flood situation," Bijay Kumar, managing director, National Horticulture Board told FE.
Similar is the situation of other major vegetables. In Bangalore, average retail price of peas is almost 34% more than the same time last year as daily supplies in mandis have dropped by a third to 109 tonne.
In Delhi, retail price of peas is almost Rs 8 per kg more than the same period last year and supplies in July are down by 41%.
Cauliflower prices in West Bengal are almost Rs 6 per kg more than last year at around Rs 32 also because of low supplies.
In Srinagar, cauliflower prices are on an average Rs 13 per kg more than the same period last, the NHB data showed. One kg of round brinjal, costs on an average Rs 33 in Guwahati in July, while the same was priced at around Rs 24 in July last year, supplies in the city has almost halved between July 2009 to July 2010.
The only saving grace has been the price of onion and potatoes, which has not risen or have infact fallen in July. But, for how long.
"There is a probability of onion prices rising from September as output has been less-than-expected in Karnataka because of poor rains and the intense heat wave has damaged the quality of crop stored in warehouses," CB Holkar, president, National Horticulture Research and Development Foundation (NHRDF) said.
Warm weather causes good demand and low cucumber productions in Europe
When asked for his prognosis for the coming weeks, Dortmans answers. "I don't see any more increase in the price, but I expect a stabilisation in the market. There won't be any more supply brought in soon. Mainly the older plants suffered under the heat. There won't be any top productions any time soon."
"The demand for cucumbers is just very broad. All countries are in at the moment. I'm also receiving demand from countries like the United Kingdom and Poland, because the local production isn't sufficient." The mood amongst the growers is also better. But, Dortmans warns. "The hole left by last year isn't closed up yet."
2010-07-21 Prices of citruses in Moscow
Against shorted supplies on the market, prices for lemons from Argentina and RSA rose from 61-64 rubles (1.55-1.63 €) to 70-75 rubles (1.78-1.91 €) per kg. Prices for mandarins from Argentina increased from 60-65 rubles (1.53-1.65 €) to 70-80 rubles (1.78-2.03 €) per kg.
More berries now processed in Mexico
Statistics from SIAP put berry production for 2009 at 364 156 tonnes, a 22 000 tonne increase on previous year figures. Strawberry production grew to 24 109 tonnes and blueberry to 1 445 tonnes. The value of Mexican berry fruits also grew 25% in 2009.
Italy: International Master of Fruit Science
Mission
The Master program aims to equip future managers with highly specialized technical skills, thus preparing them for careers in high-level positions along the fruit production and distribution chain, in local as well as international enterprises and organizations.
Starting in a.y. 2010-2011. Pre-enrolment: 7 June - 10 September 2010
Contacts:
Faculty of Science and Technology
Universitätsplatz 5 - piazza Università 5
39100 Bozen-Bolzano (South Tyrol, Italy)
Tel: +39 0471 017000
Fax: +39 0471 017009
Email: science.technology@unibz.it
More details and info are also available at:
www.unibz.it/en/sciencetechnology
US: Western Massachusetts farmers on the lookout for tomato blight
The late blight, a fast-spreading disease that caused the Irish potato famine in the 1840s, caused near-total losses in the 2009 growing season for both home and commercial tomato growers when unusually wet and cool weather accelerated the blight to spread quickly.
This summer's humidity and overnight rain showers can sometimes be enough to facilitate the growth of damaging fungi, according to Daniel G. Ziomek, nursery manager at Hadley Garden Center.
The contaminated field, found in Hadley at a Community-Supported Agriculture farm called the Next Barn Over, was plowed under on Tuesday.
"Now we're just hoping it doesn't spread as rapidly as last year," Ziomek said. "Most farmers are pretty careful about scouting their fields these days. If we can keep this to just this one field, we'll be doing all right."
US (IL): Spring weather may hamper fall pumpkin crop
Mohammad Babadoost says Phytophera blight has been detected in some Illinois pumpkins. That's bad, because in addition to the abundance of pumpkins suitable for jack-o-lanterns in Illinois, almost all of the nation's pumpkin processing -- for pies, breads, etc. -- takes place here.
Babadoost, who says it's too early to tell what the effect will be on this year's pumpkin yield, says people concerned about diseases in foods such as pumpkins, squash, cucumbers, and melons may contact him at babadoos@illinois.edu
Turkish greenhouse sector set to expand
The main products grown under protection in Turkey are tomato (65%), pepper, eggplant, cucumber, pumpkin, watermelon and melon.
35.000 hectares (and growing...) of land is used by greenhouses at the moment. This is continually growing; some 500 hectares are soil less.
Ms. Buket Tekinsoy, the Secretary General of the Turkish Greenhouse Manufacturers & Growers Association (SERA-BIR) explains that the main types of greenhouses in Turkey 20 % are glass-houses, rest are plastic. There are various models of greenhouse in operation, most of them are low-tunnel plastic structures.
"Drip-irrigation is the most popular system but properly set modern systems are actually very rare." continues Ms Buket. "Most of the growers try to set their own system themselves; without buying any professional know-how."
Recently the Ministry of Agriculture banned most of the chemicals which were used for pest and disease control. Integrated Pest Management Systems (biologicals, feromons, traps and other alternatives...) are now growing popular.
08.What % is organic?
According to Ms Bukey there are no accurate statistics about organic cultivation, but she reckons it is less than 1 %.
The acreage has increased in the last five years and is still growing fast, especially the acreage of soil less facilities is growing fast. In 2007 it was 270 hectares, today about 500. (Average tonage per hectare is 30 tons for regular greenhouses. In soil less facilities it can be as high as 40 tons to 60 tons.)
Ms Buket says that 5% of the product is exported. "We can add some for the products which are exported after processing such as tomato paste, ketchup, pickles etc."
The main export destinations are EU, Ukraine, Russian Federation, Middle East (Iraq, Iran, Syria, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Bahreyn etc.), Turkic Republics (Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Kirgizistan, Uzbekistan, Tacikistan, Turkmenistan etc.)
Tuta absoluta entered country in 2009 and in 2010 Turkish growers realized that it was a disaster. "Marketing has been one of the main problems for decades which we normally never mention." There are no other major problems in the Turkish greenhouse sector other than juridical problems.
Ms Buket goes on to say, "Actually Tuta has had an awakening effect on growers in Turkey, as most of them started working together against the pest."
Ms Buket expects that the Turkish green house sector will grow faster and faster. "I can guess that in 10 years both the acreage will double and most of the current facilities will be modernized."
ZESPRI releases final numbers for new variety uptake
In total, ZESPRI received 817 applications for 1800ha of new variety licences. With the additional 50ha of Gold9 released by ZESPRI, 200ha of Gold3, 250ha of Gold9 and 150ha of Green14 will be grafted or planted this year. The next potential licence application opportunity will be in 2011.
Of ZESPRI's 2700 New Zealand growers, 556 have received licences to grow ZESPRI's new kiwifruit varieties and 773 are growing ZESPRI® GOLD Kiwifruit – leading the world in embracing and adopting innovative new kiwifruit varieties.
ZESPRI Chief Executive, Lain Jager, said the industry's input into new variety commercialisation and licence allocation decisions had been valuable.
"The strong collaboration and communication across the New Zealand kiwifruit industry is one of the reasons we, as an industry, are so successful. Grower debate and discussion is a crucial part of ensuring we are getting it right," he said.
ZESPRI's kiwifruit breeding programme with Plant & Food Research is the world's largest and most advanced, and will deliver substantial new variety opportunities for growers in the future.
Key points:
- ZESPRI received 817 applications for 1800ha of new variety licences
- ZESPRI has approved 600ha of new variety licences for grafting/planting this year
- 200ha of Gold3
- 250ha of Gold9
- 150ha of Green14
- 556 ZESPRI growers growing new varieties
- 773 ZESPRI growers growing ZESPRI GOLD
- ZESPRI's kiwifruit breeding programme with Plant & Food Research is the world largest and most advanced and will deliver substantial new variety opportunities for growers in the future
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Agrexco starts pomegranate deliveries
The 2010/11 Israeli pomegranate harvest got underway last week, according to leading exporter Agrexco, making it the first Northern Hemisphere pomegranate on the market.
This sweet red variety of pomegranate, averaging 250g-350g and sold under the Carmel label, will be exclusively exported by Agrexco, the company said.
Product manager Bezalel Madmon revealed that the first pomegranates on the market would be those grown in the Dead Sea region, to be followed by pomegranates from all over the country.
He said that due to the meticulous cultivation methods employed by the growers, the first shipment would consist of "high premium fruit".
Each fruit is covered with a paper bag, Mr Madmon explained, in order to protect it from pesticides and to prevent sun burn and damage caused by contact with leaves, branches and other fruit.
"The result is not only a better-looking fruit but also very healthy," he said.
The Israeli pomegranate season is due to last until March 2011.
Fruitness campaign unveils new website
Interactive games, diet and nutrition information plus a healthy dose of sporting action are the stand-out features of a new site being rolled out across five European countries by the Fruitness enjoy it! campaign, an EU-backed project being run by Italian agency Centro Servizi Ortofrutticoli (CSO), with the support of the Italian government, to promote fruit consumption among children and teenagers.
The new website, which also features the superhero character Mr Fruitness, will be used to engage with young European consumers in an effort to combat childhood obesity in Austria, Germany, Poland, Sweden and the UK.
Like its predecessor, the new Mr Fruitness website is available in five different languages – English, Italian, German, Polish and Swedish – but is even more dynamic, with new content and tools designed to be perfectly in tune with the modern internet era.
The revamped site has been launched in conjunction with a series of initiatives aimed at captivating the attention and interest of youngsters as well as trade professionals.
These include promotions across the main social media sites in order to encourage word-of-mouth and content sharing among users; the revitalisation of the Mr Fruitness profile on Twitter; and raising awareness in the international media and in the target countries.
Visitors to the website will be able to communicate on first-name terms with the superhero by registering and logging in with their own nickname.
As well as being varied and dynamic, the site's online activities – ranging from skiing and hockey to dice, doodling and ability tests – all reinforce the value of sport and the importance of eating fruit.
Users can even become trusted allies of Mr Fruitness by creating their own avatar and, after answering a simple questionnaire and clocking up 10,000 points in the site's Pear Sky game, will win a Mr Fruitness-branded game for their mobile phone.
The site also offers quizzes, recipes, useful information and tips for leading a healthy and balanced lifestyle.
Funding for the Mr Fruitness project was recently extended for a further three years following excellent results achieved by the first triennial campaign, during which the superhero's website generated more than one million contacts.
US: Fresh organic asparagus from Argentina
The company based in California will fly these fresh asparagus into Miami and Los Angeles daily. They expect availabiliy to be good, the asparagus are packed in 11lb boxes and will be available mid July through early December.
Switzerland: Heatwave causes problems in broccoli and leek cultivation
The drought is, because of the high level of subterranean water, not a problem, according to Hans-Peter Kocher of Inforama Seeland. The problem, however, is the heat which hardly decreases during the night. The vegetable plants recuperate insufficiently and this sometimes even prevents flowering. Especially with the broccoli, fennel and leek cultivation crop failures are reported. Also spinach cultivation is in danger, as because of the present climate, the seeds cannot germinate.
In the east of the country the berry growth has been harmed according to Peter Conrad of LBBZ Arenenberg. Many raspberries are underdeveloped. The quality of the harvested berries is good despite the heat. By covering with hailnets growers try and decrease the heat in the greenhouses somewhat, but also the workers of the cultivation companies suffer because of the heat. "But thanks to investments in irrigation and the efforts of the growers sufficient vegetables and berries are available" Peter Conrad says.
Chile: Frost in avocado producing areas
The Chilean Hass Avocado Association will initiate a program of visits to different groves in all the production areas to evaluate the scope of the damage, and in three weeks, they hope to have better figures of final production and exports for the 2010/11 season.
Unilever, Syngenta challenge European patents on tomato, broccoli breeding
The hearing, which started this morning at the European Patent Office, will establish the validity of patents on breeding vegetables. A unit of Basel, Switzerland-based Syngenta and Unilever, based in London and Rotterdam, challenged the patents as invalid because they cover a biological rather than technical process.
Farmers and representatives from Greenpeace were among those protesting against the patents outside the Munich, Germany, office today. Patents that cover vegetables should never have been granted and must be stopped, Greenpeace said in a statement today.
Failure to do so would lead to "rising prices for farmers and consumers" because fewer companies would control food production, Christoph Then, a patent consultant for Greenpeace, said in the statement.
"The cases today will decide to what extent the patents can be maintained," Rainer Osterwalder, a spokesman for the patent office said by telephone. "The patents will remain valid until there's a final decision, which we expect by the end of this year."
Plant Bioscience Patent
In 2003, Syngenta filed its challenge against the patent U.K.-based Plant Bioscience Ltd. got a year earlier on a breeding process for broccoli plants. Unilever in 2004 opposed a patent granted to the Israeli Ministry of Agriculture for a method for breeding tomatoes, according to the patent office.
While Syngenta backs patent protection for new breeding methods that respect the law, the company doesn't support patents on methods that already exist.
"We originally filed an opposition to the 'broccoli patent' because we did not believe the requirements of patentability were met," Syngenta said in an e-mailed statement. "Our opposition was in relation to this very specific patent application."
Unilever spokesman Flip Doetsch said in an e-mail he had no comment at this stage.
A European patent is the easiest way for companies at the moment to get patent protection across several countries at once. The European Patent Office isn't part of the European Union.
The European Commission, the executive agency for the 27- nation region, earlier this month presented plans to create patents to cover the whole EU. Similar plans for EU-wide patents have failed in the past over language issues.
Citrus from Southern Africa in Europe
Because of the difficult climate for entrepreneurs in Mozambique and Zimbabwe compared to South Africa only small volumes come from these countries. Nevertheless the import program of orange varieties: Valencia, Delta, Midknight and Turkey from Zimbabwe may be called spectacular. De Groot International B.V., Holland receive in comparison, reasonable volumes from that country.
Zimbabwean citrus is very strong and additionally of good quality. This region is always earlier than the first South African areas. Normally speaking the juice content of Valencia oranges is about 35%, but the juice content of the Zimbabwean fruit of the Don Mario label is in excess of 40%. In addition the brix content of South African oranges is normally 9 or 10 Brix, whilst for Zimbabwe oranges this is between 12 and 13 brix. These oranges have therefore a higher juice content and are sweeter.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
French pear forecast encouraging
According to the Association Nationale Pommes Poires (ANPP), pear production in France this year is forecast at approximately 195,000 tonnes.
Although this represents a minor decrease compared with last campaign's 202,000 tonnes, it is significantly higher than the 157,000 tonnes cultivated two seasons ago.
A delay of eight days is expected for the Guyot variety, the ANPP reveals, while a slight retardment is equally anticipated for Williams pears.
As for exports, French growers have significant work to do to reconquer parts of the market that were suddenly lost in 2008.
Export volumes remained stable for the period between 2000 and 2007, until a large decrease occurred in 2008, since which time imports of pears into France have reportedly been increasing.
However, the decline in the production area of pears has been successfully halted and, according to the ANPP's Vincent Guérin, domestic consumption is currently on the up, meaning that perspectives for growers appear far better than in recent years.
According to statistics from the ANPP, around 70 per cent of French households purchase pears, ranking the fruit only eighth in comparison with other fruits.
However, pears perform better when it comes to volume bought per shop and number of purchases in a year. The first figure stands at 7.4kg, putting pears in sixth place, while the fruit is purchased an average of eight times a year, placing pears in fourth place.
India: Heavy rains affect pineapple production in parts of West Bengal
According to Kajal Ghosh, the President of the Pineapple Merchant Association, production was normal this year but heavy rain fall and overflow of water damaged the pineapple.
Farmers, who were expecting a good crop this year, are now facing losses.
"This year production was good but 20-25 percent of pineapples are rotten and damaged. At the beginning of the season there was no rain. After that, heavy rainfall flooded the orchards," said Nakul Ghosh, a wholesale merchant.
Around 2,500 orchards and sixty wholesale shops are there in the area and nearly 150,000 people are directly or indirectly dependent on the cultivation and sale of pineapple.
Pakistan: Export of dates may fetch over $75m
Our dates orchards are spread over 1.8 million acres of land in Sindh and more than 85 million trees are having production value in Khairpur and Sukkur, they added.
"The projected target of dates exports from Pakistan till June 2010 was 160,000 tonne worth $55.0 million, but due to packaging delays we could not achieve target", Senior member Sindh Agriculture Forum Shakeel Ahmad said.
There is a greater need of an institute that should provide technical assistance and training to growers, traders and exporters in storage, processing and packing to increase export potential, Ahmad added.
He said the institute should also provide technical know-how and training for marketing, quality improvement and crop protection in this regard.
He said according to Pakistan Horticulture Development and Export Company, Trade Development Authority of Pakistan is establishing Dates Processing Skill Development Institute at Khairpur.
"But this should be done with the consent of all stakeholders especially the real growers and exporters", Ahmad maintained. The export during the current date season stands at 90,000 tonne worth $34.0 million, while anticipated production was 6.1 million tonne, he added.
The major countries importing both fresh and dried dates from Pakistan are India, USA, UK, Canada, Germany, Denmark, Malaysia and Indonesia.
He said, "India is the largest importer with market share of about 38 percent while France and UK are second and third largest importers with shares of 4 percent and 2.5 percent respectively".
The world date import is about 0.63 million tonne per annum while it is estimated that annually about 6 million tonnes of dates are produced world over, he informed.
Improved farm and proper harvesting with modern processing, Pakistan has been certified by Good Agriculture Practices (GAP).
Around three date processing plants one each in Sindh, Balochistan and North Western Frontier Province (NWFP) are working on modern lines.
Traders are also striving to produce by-products of dates in order to fetch more foreign exchange, he added.
He said buyers from India, China, Saudi Arabia and Uzbekistan had shown great interest in making deals for dates.
Pakistan is the fourth largest producer of dates but exports are insignificant because processing technology and practices are primitive.
According to FAO, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Iran, UAE, Algeria, Pakistan, Sudan, Oman, Libya, China and Tunisia are the major date producing countries of the world.
Pakistan is one of the main growers of dates. It follows Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Iran and UAE in the list of top date producing countries with 10 percent share of global production. Balochistan is the highest date producing province followed by Sindh, Punjab and NWFP.
The horticulture crops (fruits, vegetables and condiments) alone contribute Rs 116.645 billion, equivalent to $2 billion, which is 26 percent of the total value of all crops and 81.8 percent of the total value of minor crops.
Peak season for date consumption is during the month of Ramazan. Entire Muslim community around the world currently numbering 1.6 billion people is loyal consumer of dates. Consumption is also quite high during Christmas, he said.
Similarly, the fruit enjoys enormous significance on the occasion of Divali and such festivals in other religions. Dates have found their way into sweets, confectionery, and chocolates, baking products, preservatives, salads, sauces and breakfast cereals. Dates also have bulk industrial uses.
Organic farming up by 7% across Europe
A report looking at the European Union's organic sector from 2000 to 2008 found the total amount of land farmed organically increased from 4.3m ha to 7.6m ha.
The figure means organic farming accounts for 4.3% of agricultural land across the EU's 27 member states.
According to the report, Spain has the highest amount of organic farmland, with 1.13m ha in organic production.
The UK is fourth-highest, with 0.72m ha farmed without pesticides or fertilisers.
Austria has the highest proportion of its agricultural land in organic production, with 15.5% of its farmland registered as organic.
The EC's report says there were 197,000 organic farmers in 2008, though the "fragility of the sector" meant figures varied widely depending on when the organic market was doing well.
While the UK organic market is identified as one of the largest EU markets, it says it suffered during the recession, with sales falling by 13.6% in 2009.
Of the organic produce produced by the EU, cereals account for 18.3% of organic farmland, with 1.2m ha grown in 2007.
Organic vegetable production accounted for 90,000 ha (1.4%) of organic production, while there were 2.4m head of organic cattle.
The UK was one of the biggest producers of organic sheep, alongside Italy, with 850,000 head each - 52% of the EU's organic herd.
Richard Jacobs, chief executive of organic certifier Organic Farmers and Growers, said the organic market had changed considerably in the years after those covered in the report because of the recession.
"The report paints a very rosy picture, though since 2008 we, as a control body, have seen a plateau with regard to numbers of operators registering," he said.
"What we do know is that the same has not happened in all EU countries and we have seen a rise in imports to the UK, which just emphasises that there is a market for organic food in this country that UK farmers are failing to fill.
"That means opportunities for many if they are sharp enough to take them."
UK: Edinburgh site Of 2012 World Potato Congress
It is the first time the Congress will be held in Scotland and it will be hosted by the Potato Council. More than 600 delegates from all over the world, including growers, producers, traders, processors and manufacturers are expected to attend the conference.
"The congress will bring together the world's best in our industry and this is a great opportunity to showcase the British potato industry on a global scale. Growers, packers and processors will all benefit from the event," Mr. Stevenson said. "Furthermore, industry members will be able to take advantage of opportunities to view the latest R&D projects in which Britain continues to lead the world.
"As this is an international event bringing together regulators and key opinion leaders, there will be the opportunity for British growers, packers and processors to influence core EU regulatory issues and draw the attention of the media to the challenges currently facing the industry," he added.
In addition, the high quality seed industry will be able to demonstrate the significant advantages gained from the relative isolation of Scotland from potato diseases to potential overseas markets.
WPC Inc President Allan Parker noted Edinburgh, with its history, culture and superior amenities, will make a great backdrop for the 8th World Potato Congress. "We typically attract delegates from across the potato industry spectrum, as well as related commercial interests such as: equipment manufacturers, crop protection specialists, banking and finance experts, marketing specialists, scientists, and many more. The list of those who benefit from our diverse and challenging program is exhaustive," said Parker.
"We look forward to welcoming the global industry leaders to Edinburgh in 2012."
The Edinburgh International Convention Centre will be the main venue, with delegates participating in a variety of seminars, presentations by industry leaders, and scientific dialogues. There will also be opportunities to visit local growing and producing facilities. Numerous pre and post Congress tours will offer visitors unique opportunities to discover developments in the potato industry in Scotland and throughout Great Britain.
The Congress functions to promote sharing of information on all aspects of the potato industry. Delegates will represent industry sectors in both developed countries and countries with developing potato industries
Agricultural innovations are still needed to boost food production in Africa
Using a case study of the cassava revolution in Africa, researchers estimate that resource-poor farmers in Nigeria, alone, traded improved cassava stems—a part that is often neglected for having commercial value—worth more than US$1 million (about N150m) in five years.
Professor Lateef Sanni, IITA Scientist, said that this increase in incomes of farmers came between 2003 and 2008.
Organized by the Public Affairs Section of the United States Consulate General, Lagos and IITA in Ibadan; the "Food and Culture" lecture brought together experts in the food and agricultural sector including a guest lecturer from Tufts University.
Stakeholders reviewed the US agricultural experience and brainstormed on areas that Africa could tap into.
In his presentation titled: "Roots and Tubers: Food Security Crops in Nigeria," Sanni said cassava was a food security crop in Nigeria and a major provider of employment and income.
He said the crop appeals to farmers because of its affordability, ease of cultivation, and high return on investment.
Apart from the stems, cassava roots and leaves are now offering additional income streams to farmers.
Despite cassava's role in the food web, Sanni said more attention by way of support to research was needed. More importantly, cutting down postharvest losses through investment in processing technologies and the creation of an appropriate policy framework were necessary to sustain cassava's role in ensuring food security in the future.
Prof. William Masters of Tufts University said that the US government was reviewing its commitment to African agriculture with plans to increase funding for the sector and to achieve productivity growth which IITA has stood for in the last more than four decades.
Masters, an agricultural economist, shared his thoughts on "How Americans are rethinking what they eat and what is in their food, how they grow, market and distribute them."
He explained that consumers in wealthy societies no longer need higher farm productivity for their own prosperity, but instead are seeking foods that embody their cultural values. Giving a scenario of killing the 'golden goose that laid the golden eggs,' Masters expressed fears that consumer preferences for organic, local and traditional foods in the US might limit their support for the kind of agricultural innovations that are needed in Africa.
According to him, the agricultural revolution in America and Europe which sustained industrialization was a product of technological improvement in agriculture and that campaigning against new advances that hold the key to cutting down hunger and poverty in Africa was synonymous to killing the golden goose that laid the golden eggs of new crop genetics and agronomic methods.
African experts at the session agreed that taking Africa's agricultural sector out of the woods would require the adoption of new technological tools.
For Paul Ilona, IITA Senior Cassava Trials Manager, farmers needed improved seeds, fertilizer and other farm inputs such as pesticides to boost productivity. He said anything to the contrary was a disservice to farmers in Africa.
Earlier, IITA's Director-General, Dr. Peter Hartmann, who was represented by Dr Mbaye Yade, said the Institute was delighted to share its knowledge and experience in the area of agriculture with partners.
He said the fight against poverty and hunger in Africa required collaborative efforts among the many stakeholders working for Africa's development.
Australia: Monster crop of avacados
This year they're marvelling at their size.
Most fruit comes in at 140-340g, according to Avocados Australia but the Sunnybank Hills family's produce weighs just under 1kg.
Nobody can confirm whether it's an Australian record but Mrs Comino, 79, doesn't care. They're going to be eaten.
``We will eat them, give them to all my friends,'' she said. ``Everyone loves them.''
Chris Sheedy, from Guinness World Records, said the world's largest avocado was grown by Gabriel Remirez Nahim of Venezuela, weighing in at 2.19kg last year.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Pakistan exports 50,000 tonnes mango
As claimed by leading mango exporters, previous year during the same period, the country had exported more than 50,000 tonnes of the most demanding fruit of the summer season. They attributed several impediments in lagging behind in the expected export target during the current year. Some of which include less than expected yield and high airfreight rates charged by the foreign airlines.
Pakistan's mango export to European countries are specially victim of decline in the wake of unjustified upward revision in the freight charges by some foreign airlines with the advent of export season. Pakistan's annual mango export to European countries by air route stands around 20,000 tonnes, which is $4.5 million and with enhanced freight charges, the new target of 125,000 tonnes to be accomplished by the end of August or the beginning of September is also likely to face a stiff problem.
One of the leading mango exporters said that Emirates Airline, which carries a large quantity of Pakistan's mango to European destinations, has made nine percent increase in its freight charges as compared to the previous year, which now stands between Rs 150 to Rs 170 per kilogramme.
The same airline is carrying Indian mango at the rate of Rs 115 per kg, which amounts to unfair and discriminatory treatment meted out to local exporters.
In view of discriminatory airfreight charged by the Emirates Airline and Ittehad Airline, majority of the fruit exporters believe that increase in freight rates has rendered Pakistani mangoes uncompetitive as compared to their Indian counterparts. For the same reasons, country's mango export to European countries is down with a ratio of 25 to 30 percent during the current year spelling bleak scenario for the exporters.
Currently, the major exporting variety of mango includes 'chaunsa' from Punjab, which is exported to countries like Europe, Gulf region, Afghanistan and Iran.
Former All Pakistan Vegetable and Fruit Exporter Association chairman Abdul Wahid replying to a query of the scribe claimed that currently mango rates are very high as compared to last year, which is now available to exporters at Rs 1,400 per maund against previous year's rates of Rs 1000 to Rs 1200 for the same weight.
Large quantity of the mango is exported to Afghanistan and Central Asia without proper documentation and in terms of revenue. Pakistan is not accruing any significant benefit from this kind of export. This unlawful export should be checked by the government forthwith as the process through documentation would yield precious foreign exchange to the national exchequer.
China: Man grows freaky conjoined watermelon
The 25-year-old from Wuhan admitted that his odd cultivation marks the first time he's set eyes on 'such a weird-shaped' watermelon - a phenomenon even experts say is extremely rare to come across.
US: Scientists look for alternatives to water for crop freeze protection
Jack E. Rechcigl, director of the Gulf Coast Research and Education Center in Balm, said his team will be looking at several alternatives for farmers to protect their crops from freeze damage. A safe alternative is needed in light of the damaging effects that sinkholes caused to public and private property this year, Rechcigl said.
For the about the last 40 years farmers have relied on using millions of gallons of water from deep wells to coat strawberry fields with a layer of ice when the temperatures drop below freezing. As long as the deep well water is continuously applied the blossoms and immature berries will be protected. In January, 12 straight nights of freezing temperature forced farmers to spray more than 1 billion gallons of water on their crops.
One of the alternatives the research center task force is looking at as a frost protection measure is hoop tunnels, a non-permanent structure covered with plastic that could be erected in the fields to protect the strawberries during a freeze event.
Assistant professor Bielinski Santos, a horticultural scientist at the research center, said it is possible that the estimated 8,000 acres of strawberry fields in eastern Hillsborough County could be protected from freeze damage.
"Hoop tunnels have proven to be very effective," Santos said. "That is the way strawberries are grown all around the world."
Other options are considered, he said.
"We are also looking at foam, roll covers, low volume sprinklers and intermittent irrigation. We want to provide the grower proven methods from which they can pick and choose. One of the components in my program is to provide the grower with the most economic method."
Foam would be applied to the field by tractors or mechanical sprayers. Roll covers are large insolated blankets that would be applied above the crop.
Santos said the research center is receiving support from the Southwest Florida Water Management District on testing low volume sprinklers as a freeze protection measure.
"More testing is needed in the field," Santos said. "We are looking for a cost effective methods that will provide protection without breaking the bank."
Monday, July 19, 2010
UK: World's first red-fleshed apple hits supermarket shelves
But on deeper inspection the fruit reveals its true colours.
Take a bite and you will find the Redlove's distinctive hue runs all the way through to the core.
Not only is the apple said to be extremely tasty – it has a 'berry nuance' – it is even healthier than your average apple as its red flesh is richer in antioxidants.
The new fruit will even keep its colour after being cooked or pressed, producing cider that looks more like cranberry juice – or an unusual looking apple pie.
It also has the advantage of not turning brown, making it better than normal apples as an ingredient in a fruit salad.
The Redlove is the result of 20 years of painstaking work by Markus Kobert, a Swiss fruit grower.
He has cross-pollinated a number of varieties – including one that has pink flesh but no taste – to come up with the Redlove.
Seed and sapling company Suttons has secured exclusive rights to sell the fruit trees in Britain, with 1,500 orders taken from amateur gardeners already.
Orchards across Europe are being planted with saplings so the apples can be produced on a commercial scale.
British supermarkets are expected to start selling them within the next few years.
Russia: World's largest field collection of fruits and berries to be destroyed
Russian property developers are preparing to turn the site into holiday homes. The land which belongs to Vavilov Horticultural Research Institute, is home to more than 4,000 varieties of fruits and berries, some of which have become extinct in their natural environments.
Vavilov Horticultural Research Institute lost the land after losing an appeal against a decree of the Russian Ministry for Economic Development in Moscow's Arbitration Court earlier this week, reports the St Petersburg Times.
According to experts the Pavlosk Research station, comprising 910,000 square meters, is the largest genetic field bank in Europe. Just one of the plots of land at the site contains more than 5,000 samples of rare plants from all over the globe.
The institute's acting director at the facility, Fyodor Mikhovich, said the task of transferring the specimen would be impossible, even if they were given three years instead of the three months that they have been granted for the task. He reckons it would take as long as 15 years to do the job properly.
The institute has stressed that the research conducted at the facility is of great use in research into the treatment of chronic illnesses, such as diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.
An other appeal has been filed but the chances don't look good, the hearing is scheduled for August 11
Researchers and environmentalists alike are campaigning around the globe, urging influential organizations such as the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation, to intervene at the highest level and halt the destruction of the Pavlosk collection.
South Korea: Kiwi is replacing citrus
Kiwifruit are expensive in South Korea, with the gold variety selling for around $1.50 each, but they are very popular. The South Korean market is worth some $100 million to Zespri, and it is aiming to supply kiwifruit to those consumers all year round.
South Korean growers are growing the fruit under license from Zespri on Jeju Island.
Due the harsh weather conditions on the island it has not all been plain sailing. This very humid environment can experience typhoons and very cold winters
Heat wind blowers are used during the winter time to heat some farms and also during the summer cooler systems using water to cool the upper part of the kiwi trees.a All of the fruit is grown in plastic tunnel houses - the roofs of which can be altered depending on the intensity of the sun or rain.
Zespri said the initial reason they had to install the tunnel houses was the typhoon danger.
In South Korea all pollination is done artificially unlike in New Zealand. In April when the flowers are in bloom, growers use spray packs to pollinate the flowers.
The process is repeated several times to ensure every flower is covered and the spray is coloured pink to track progress.
The plants belong to Zespri which maintains a tight reign on the process.
Belgium: "Considerably less potatoes due to drought"
"Prices are at twice the level of last year and we do not expect this to change immediately because of the generally low yields. The price of Premières is now about 20 cents per kg ex grower" Jurgen continues. "Size 65+ will be very scarce during the coming months."
Also the old potatoes have been experiencing an increase in price during the last few weeks.
"The old potatoes (Bintjes) fetched 7 to 8 cents for a while, but these prices also increased to a level of 20 cents for those lots capable of being used for the production of chips" the potato seller continues. "Nevertheless the demand for potatoes is relatively quiet, but that is probably because of the holidays and the warm weather last week."
Spain: The apple crop decreases 50% in eight years
With no doubt apple trees have substantially reduced in area in La Rioja. If in 2001 the apple crop expansion in the community surpassed one thousand hectares, during the last season it just reached 500, which represents a 50% decline that has caused a further decline in the production of this fruit.
The figures speak for themselves: in 2001 a total of 31 285 tons of apples were collected throughout La Rioja while in the last year they have collected 11 910 tons, nearly three times less what it used to be.
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