VIVEROS HERNANDORENA combines research, experience, and collaboration to lead the carob revolution

On April 3, Viveros Hernandorena will participate in the XII Technical Conference for the Promotion and Improvement of Carob Cultivation, held in Las Palmerillas (Almería), where it will showcase its advances in plant improvement, varieties, and multiplication processes

Despite being one of the least popular crops in Spain, with a production area concentrated in the Mediterranean Arc, carob is gaining popularity due to the growing demand from the food industry. Its pod, carob, is rich in proteins, vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, and D, as well as minerals such as iron, calcium, magnesium, zinc, silicon, phosphorus, and potassium, providing significant health benefits.

The specialized multiplication process and the limited research carried out until a few years ago have hindered its productive and commercial development. However, Viveros Hernandorena is leading the scientific study and analysis of this crop in Spain, along with the Association of Innovative Carob Companies (EiG), achieving significant advancements that allow the company to carry out the “carob revolution.”

Rosa Hernandorena Ribes, the commercial director of Viveros Hernandorena, emphasized that since 2011, the company has been driving an important R&D strategy aimed at improving the complex plant multiplication system, which is fully carried out in its greenhouses. “Today, we have grafted more than 100,000 plants, which already accounts for 80% of the total greenhouse space in our facilities.” This figure positions Viveros Hernandorena as the leading producer of carob plants in Europe.

In addition to Spain’s Mediterranean basin, its clients are also located in southern Italy and Portugal, where this crop is growing with large, highly professional operations.

Professional Approach

 The cultivation of carob is characterized by its demanding multiplication process, both in terms of time (more than two years in the greenhouse) and the high failure rate of grafting: of the 100,000 plants Viveros Hernandorena grafts each year, only 60-65% successfully complete the process. “Little by little, we have been improving our multiplication systems, which is allowing us to reduce these losses and, therefore, offer our customers a more competitive plant,” explains Rosa Hernandorena Ribes, the commercial director of Viveros Hernandorena.

Carob is a tree highly sensitive to temperature and humidity, and its pot production process is complicated, which is why Viveros Hernandorena has developed the necessary specialization. However, once it has passed this process, it becomes a robust tree, well-suited to dry climates, arid, almost desert-like soils, and coastal areas, such as the Mediterranean region, where carob is native.

These characteristics also favor one of its main advantages, as carob cultivation also results in savings in water, fertilizers, and pesticides. “This is its great success. Thanks to the modernization carried out in the multiplication process, water savings, and other inputs, the costs of this crop are very controlled,” commented the manager of the Valencian nursery.

 Collaborations

 However, even though the company is at the forefront of research on carob and its potential for improving production, Viveros Hernandorena is not alone in this process. There is a conglomerate of professionals and companies in the sector, part of the Association of Innovative Carob Companies (EiG), who generate and share information on production, pest control, disease treatment, pruning systems, and variety analysis.

In parallel, at the nursery’s own facilities, networking sessions are also held with small groups of professionals to showcase the work being done at Viveros Hernandorena in promoting this crop.

Furthermore, projects are being developed in the Valencian Community, the Balearic Islands, and Portugal, in addition to collaborations with the University of Bari (Puglia, Italy), with whom they maintain an agreement to specifically promote the modernization of carob cultivation and share knowledge gained from the crop’s resistance to Xylella, as it is seen as an alternative to olive trees.

 Technical Carob Day

 In this collaborative framework, on April 3, Viveros Hernandorena will participate in the XII Technical Day for the Promotion and Improvement of Carob Cultivation, in Las Palmerillas (Almería), where, as a member of the Association of Innovative Carob Companies (EiG), it will present its advances in improving the plant, varieties, and the multiplication system of the crop in pots and under greenhouses.