CIV innovation takes the lead with its strawberry varieties at the Rotterdam Global Berries Congress 2018
Eugenio Bolognesi: “Our varietal portfolio combines productivity, the search for quality and the best in environmental sustainability”
“The GBC-Global Berries Congress 2018 in Rotterdam proved to be an interesting international stage in both level, quality, networking for the participants, and as a moment for a professional update on the berries that are currently one of the fastest growing categories in the fruit and vegetable sector worldwide”, says Eugenio Bolognesi, CIV Director, back from the Dutch trip.
CIV – Consorzio Italiano Vivaisti in San Giuseppe di Comacchio (Ferrara) took part in the “Global Berries Congress 2018” (www.berrycongress.com) both as Sponsor and as panel Speaker. Indeed, CIV manager, Eugenio Bolognesi, along with his own CIV Northern Europe Partner (Idris Consulting Ltd – www.strawberries.eu.com) Dr Johan Aelterman, during their presentation “Strawberries – Breeding Better Berries”, illustrated the history of Consorzio Italiano Vivaisti and its successes in the world of strawberry variety genetics, with a special in-depth look at the main farming techniques used in Northern Europe and the UK.
CIV strawberry variety portfolio
Muranopvr and Capripvr strawberries are among the most popular everbearers in Northern Europe; the Clerypvr strawberry leads the early segment in France/Germany/Eastern Europe and Canada, while Jolypvr is highly popular in Belgium. Along with Flaviapvr and Flaminiapvr, they are merely the jewels in the crown in the rich range of varieties offered by the CIV (www.civ.it/civ/strawberries), which today is garnering significant validation from both a farming and a commercial standpoint.
The Muranopvr strawberry certainly deserves a special mention: one of the leading varieties in the British market, it is particularly popular in the Netherlands, Belgium and Scandinavia as well, especially thanks to its organoleptic qualities and its high productivity. Moreover, the good adaptability to various environments confirms their versatility and flexibility, which allow producers to plan harvest well in advance. The Muranopvr is today the CIV flagship product in the everbearer category, the benchmark variety, due to the quality of the fruit, in one of the major English supermarkets.
The CIV strawberry breeding programme, which has been active since 1984, developed along four research lines: strawberries for the temperate Mediterranean climate, continental climates, everbearers, and varieties suitable for industrial processing. The use of classic techniques and the development of new varieties that can guarantee high production of top quality fruits, along with the natural hardiness and vigour of the plants, are the CIV’s primary goals to offer the national and international markets not just quality but the best in environmental sustainability.
“During the three days in Rotterdam, concludes the CIV Director Eugenio Bolognesi, CIV saw excellent feedback from the main operators in the sector, who have also highly appreciated CIV’s ever-increasing commitment to the research and development of new strawberry varieties, to satisfy every player in the supply chain, from the producer to the end user at the international level”.
