Interpera 2023: focus on technical visits

In a few days’ time, European pear Interpera, professionals will be meeting in Lleida (Catalonia, Spain) to take stock of the past season and prepare for the next. Besides a day of conferences, the organisers have scheduled a series of technical visits to showcase the region’s most modern orchards and companies.

On 28 June, participants will visit a plantation of Elliot pears, an early variety prized for its sweet flavour and delicate aroma. This pear is attractive to growers because of its good shelf-life qualities.

Visitors will then appreciate the expertise of Catalan growers in terms of meticulous planning and management in the high-density orchards of Abate Fetel, Conference, Williams and Rocha.

Finally, on this first day, the visit will end at IRTA, the agri-food research and technology institute, well known for its varietal selection studies. The institute is also working on pear cultivation techniques to optimise yield, quality and sustainability.

The main conference day will take place on 29 June and will analyse the first estimates of pear production for the 2023 season by country, the development of the pear market (2022-23 trade balance) and climate change. Three climate change adaptation projects from Belgium, France and Spain will be presented.

After conferences, a second session of technical visits is scheduled with a visit of Actel’s logistics centre. Actel is one of the largest second-level cooperatives in Lleida, and a leading company in the Catalan agri-food sector with over 100 first-level cooperatives. At the end of the day, the Qtee pear orchards will also be visited.