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It should be observed that this crisis was much worse for nearby
conventional fruit producers, such as those in the region of the São
Francisco River, to such an extent that they had to ask the government
for help. Because of the large amounts of mangoes floating about, we
did not manage to sell our mangoes in large quantities in the national
market, even though they are certified. The cattle ate up to 8 tons of
mangoes per day! Several problems combined to create this drama,
caused by the crisis that is affecting the whole world.
On the one hand, the reduced purchasing power of European consumers
led them to prefer local fruit, especially apples and pears, which are
the predominant fruit in this Autumn period; and on the other hand,
there was a shortage of bank credit for the various intermediaries and
distributors who ensure the sale of tropical fruit in Europe.
Finally, there was yet another reason: suddenly the European consumers
were no longer so fond of the Tommy Atkins variety of mangoes (which
are reddish) and fell for the Keitt and Kent varieties (which are
greenish in color). In fact, the prices received for our Keitt mangoes
were better than for the Tommy Atkins.
We could not just stand by and do nothing!
As we could not, unfortunately, bet on higher prices for the 2009
harvest, we decided to take a drastic measure: to re-graft our
Tommy-type mango trees with the Keitt variety in lines 1 and 2 of area
2, a total of 800 trees.
Severe pruning is being carried out, leaving one master branch that
will be cut off later, after the grafting is done. The trunks, never
before exposed to the sun, are protected by a preparation made of
clay, fresh manure, water and lime.
Because of our “humid strip” drip irrigation system, with drip devices
spaced out every meter on each side of the trees, we are going to
increase the density of the plantation along the line, from the
present spacing of 10x10 meters to 10x5 meters. |
