Straight from the ARRA Breeding site in Bakersfield, California, this week, we bring you the highlights of the recent ARRA™ Field Days as well as the Global Grape Summit where Grapa Varieties was one of the main sponsors.
This year, after 3 years, the Global Grape Summit was moved from its previous location in London to Bakersfield, California, in the heart of the California grape industry.
The event, held on the 20th of August, reunited leading expert in the field of fresh produce from across the globe in order to discuss the current and future trends and challenges of the table grape industry.
The Grapa team along with agents and partners, had the opportunity to meet, under the same roof, with retailers, traders, supermarket chains and growers from all over the world.
As a Diamond sponsor, the team had the opportunity to present a beautiful selection of ARRA varieties that the attendees could taste and enjoy. The good and well recognized ARRA Sweeties™ and the newest and most promising selections ARD 35, ARD 36 and ARD 39 shined through.
Many panels and discussions were carried out during the day at the Global Grape Summit and Rafi Karniel, Grapa CEO and Chairman of the Board, participated, along with other top fruit breeding companies, discussing the global table grape industry’s innovations, solutions and the challenges we are currently facing.
Rafi reports: “The key word of the event was quality: the introduction of new and improved table grape varieties has to indeed satisfy the consumer, but to succeed commercially it must work for the whole chain, from the packer, the receiver, and the retailer as well”.
Growers, traders and retailers worldwide enjoyed their experience at the ARRA Field Days this past week. Numerous participants from across the globe, convened in Bakersfield, CA, to attend the annual field days event from August 22- 23.
The first day of the event was held in English and the second in Spanish and Portuguese.
After the successful Field Day held in July where we showcased the very early, and early ARRA varieties, it was a great joy to be reunited again with growers, retailers and marketers, as well as ARRA agents, partners and friends.
The August ARRA Field Days gave the participants the opportunity to see, taste, and evaluate the newest mid to late ARRA varieties directly from the vine. It also provided a valuable forum for growers to network, compare techniques, and learn about updated growing technologies.
The attendees started the days by visiting the Giumarra Vineyard’s commercial plots of the well-known mid season ARRA Sweeties™ and the newest, mid to late season, white ARD 39 and the late red ARD 43. The feedback was great as the flavor, sweetness, and crunch of these varieties really impressed the guests.
The ARRA varieties breeder, Shachar Karniel, along with the ARRA agents and agronomists were guiding the groups between the plots and provided information on the different varieties, including growing and production data as well as each variety’s characteristics. The sensory activities provided the participants with an in-depth experience to improve their understanding of the selections showcased during the tour.
Thank you to the Jupiter Group and Sahyadri Farms’ teams and all the growers for the commitment, efforts and dedication to the ARRA Program and for another successful season and we are confident there will be to many more to come.
This season, an excellent example of ARRA Sweeties can be seen in Agricola Casarino Ltda., where the harvest has been successful. La Florida farm, where ARRA Sweeties are planted, is located in San Felipe Valley, Region V.
Mairene Casarino General Manager at Agricola Casarino says about the variety: “ARRA Sweeties™ is an excellent variety with great vigor and fertility, which makes it possible to achieve a very good bunch size and yields per hectare”.
Agricola Casarino planted the first plot of ARRA Sweeties in 2018 along with ARRA Passion Fire™ and ARRA Mystic Dream™.
ARRA Sweeties from Chile, produced by Agricola Pabellon and exported by Del Monte, leaders in the industry, were happy with the feedback received after exporting it to the USA market. The fruit arrived in excellent condition with fresh rachis and no shattering.
“I am really happy with this season ARRA Passion Fire™. This is my second year of commercial production and ARRA Passion Fire is easy to manage, the harvest was good and the fruit was excellent quality” says María Angélica Toledo, producer of EXSER. For us there is nothing more satisfying than a happy grower.
Jorge Manuel Jofre Oyanadel Palo Blanco farm Manager, says about this season ARRA Sweeties: “This variety is characterized by a faster ripening process and has a good caliber of 22 mm, moreover, it reacts well to the warm climate of this area. It is fertile, easy to manage and has high productivity. Upon arrival, the market feedback was good, leaving us very happy with this variety!”.
The quality of the ARRA Varieties produced by the Chilenian growers this season is outstanding. Despite the challenging weather conditions, bringing frost and drought in certain areas of the country, we are proud that the ARRA™ Varieties showed their great adaptability to harsh climate changes.
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