On 24-25 June, the 1^st Huelva Fruit Congress gathered more than 1,000 attendees and 30 firms at the Colon House. The berry cultivation sector of the Huelva Province is at a key moment to define its present, as well as to set long term objectives.

 

Cándido Marín Garrido, Bioiberica’s R&D head, and José María Ferraro, from Valenzuela & Cía, presented the strategies for plant protection and optimization on the first day of the congress.

The history of these two companies in the provision of biological products to the Huelva region berry producers can be traced back to the 1980s. Out of the many trials and studies done by Bioiberica in this province, Cándido Marín highlighted one carried out in strawberry plots. The results of this study determined that diseases, such as botrytis, or pests, such as Drosophila suzukii, do not represent a major problem in this region, although they cautioned against powdery mildew, which has the potential to become a serious problem for blueberry crops.  

Cándido Marín affirmed that the future of berry cultivation “might be spectacular, because Huelva has good plants and production conditions, an innovative berry production sector, and because berry consumption in Europe, both fresh as well as for the food industry, is expected to grow over the coming years”.
 

The research work carried out by Bioiberica’s Plant Physiology Division has created a range of amino acid-based products which favor, stimulate and protect crops in a natural way. 

In addition to presenting a lecture, Bioiberica was also at the exhibitors’ area as one of the official sponsors of the event.