FRUTINTER, pioneers in Sustainability and Smart Agriculture
On Thursday, September 23, at Frutinter’s facilities in Onda, the first certificate in the world of zero NITRATE FOOTPRINT for clementines grown on its farm in Las Pedrizas (Castellón) is delivered.
The Director of Certification Food Rina Spain and Portugal, Manuela Yllera Mota, from the Italian certifier Rina Services S.p.A., is in charge of its delivery, accompanied by Mr. Francisco Espinos Gutiérrez, Director Area of Business and Employment Chairs -UPV and Dr. Pedro Beltrán Medina, director of the Frutinter Chair and professor of the ETSIAMN-UPV. Frutinter’s General Manager, Mr. Javier Usó, accompanied by his brothers, Jorge Usó, Purchasing Manager and Pilar Usó, Financial Manager, collect the zero nitrate footprint certificate.
The event is part of the committee of the Frutinter UPV Chair, created in 2018 with the aim of promoting sustainable development in their farms with the application of innovative technologies and with the implementation of the SMART methodology. A methodology that involves the integration of a network of sensors in the field and other remote ones (spatial remote sensing), which allow to know in real time the vegetative developments, stress, and other aspects of the crop, as well as a microclimatic forecast of the farm. In short, all the information necessary to obtain an accurate diagnosis of what is happening on the land and in the environment in order to adapt irrigation and fertilization to the specific conditions of the moment.
The results obtained by the team of the Universitat Politècnica de València and Frutinter have been a real revolution, optimizing water consumption to the needs of the plant and reducing up to 65% the amount of fertilizer used. An innovation with an outstanding result, which has resulted in a more uniform fruit, a higher yield of the plot and an improvement in the size of the fruit.
Motivated by these results, we continue working as a team to achieve a pioneering seal that certifies the nitrate footprint and scientifically accredits the non-contamination by nitrates in subway aquifers, so important in the Castellón area.
The CERTIFICATE OF NITRATE FOOTPRINT is a guarantee of quality and safety for our clementines, which have been grown in a land not saturated with fertilizers, free of waste, and, above all, being faithful to our values and company philosophy: IN FRUTINTER WE CARE for the health of people and the planet.
FRUTINTER continues to collaborate in research projects with the UPV_ACUMA, RC and other entities, both scientific and social, with the aim of improving the quality of life of our society.
