Inspire, the strawberry variety that conquered Italy
In just two seasons, Inspire has positioned itself among the main strawberry varieties of southern Italy . Its constant production until the end of June, early July and its conservation have placed it among the premium varieties most requested by the Italian distribution.
Italy, along with Spain, France and Portugal, is one of the main strawberry producing countries in Europe. It currently has about 4,000 hectares under cultivation, mainly located in the Campania, Calabria and Basilicata regions.
It is in these areas of southern Italy that Inspire variety from the Plant Sciences and Berry Genetics breeding program, managed in southern Europe and North Africa by EL PINAR, it has experienced strong growth in recent years.
“In just two seasons, Inspire has positioned itself among the main varieties in the Basilicata area, and with forecasts to continue growing in this region as well as in Calabria and Campania. All this thanks to its agronomic and commercial characteristics, and to the commitment and trust of Italian producers and marketers, led by the company Nicofruit, which has valued this variety and has promoted its commercial development throughout the transalpine country.”, details Jorge Muñoz, commercial manager of EL PINAR.
Inspire has shown in recent years that it adapts perfectly to the productive needs of the Italian strawberry industry, allowing premium fruit to be marketed until July, and even opening new lines of business, such as online sales, thanks to its shelf life.
Agronomic characteristics of Inspire
Inspire is a variety that extends its productive cycle from the end of January to July whit bare root plants. We can start an early production as early as December with planting in pots, which allows us to anticipate and take advantage of the good market prices at that time.
The agronomic characteristics make it an ideal variety for the producer. The display of the fruit is very good thanks to the formation of constant blooms with good elongation of the floral peduncle. This characteristic causes high-quality flowers to form that will result in a strawberry with a very homogeneous size throughout the production cycle.
The fruit is elongated conical, with a homogeneous bright red color, which is also very visible on the plant, which allows a more agile harvest and consequently a significant reduction in harvesting costs.
As for its health profile, it stands out for its good behavior against fungal diseases such as Botrytis and Powdery Mildew.
A safe value in marketing
Despite the fact that 80% of Italy’s strawberry production is destined for national consumption, Inspire’s shelf life is precisely another of its added values, which is why Italian producers and marketers are betting on this variety, which has been highlighted at all times Nicofruit as a differential value since he opted for this variety.
With Inspire we can extend production until July, without the fruit swinging, a value for which the distribution classifies it as a premium variety on its shelves.
Likewise, this useful life makes it a safe bet for the producer, who is not forced to harvest the fruit so continuously and thus contain labor costs. Likewise, the shelf life of this variety allows marketing adapted to other marketing channels, such as online sales.
Its flavor, with a perfect balance between acidity and sweetness, and constant Brix, makes it a variety that not only conquers the Italian market, but also any European market.
