For this new chapter of our technical column ‘Valente Solutions’, we went to Lazio, more precisely to Monterosi (VT), exactly halfway between the provinces of Viterbo and Rome, where we were welcomed by our customer and friend Federica XXX, co-owner with her husband of the Azienda Agricola La Valletta.
The farm covers an area of 8 hectares, two of which are dedicated to the cultivation of kiwi fruit, which is in fact the subject of our in-depth study.
More specifically, it is a young plantation of yellow kiwi fruit; the plants, in fact, were planted in 2022 when they were already two years old. Two years after that day, the company will soon be able to start the first harvest, which should take place between September and October this year.
It must be kept in mind that this is an area mainly cultivated with hazelnuts, so Federica and her husband’s choice was a particularly bold one, although they are certain it will pay off.
Coming to the features of the system, we have a structure with an anti-hail cover and an anti-insect net around the perimeter with a ‘tendone’ training system.
The choice fell on the ‘tendone’ type of system because it is the most commonly used in central Italy and because it guarantees a higher final yield over time.
To date, this is still a young orchard, so it is not possible to see its full coverage, but in the next few years during the production phase it will be completely covered by plants.
Federica and her husband chose to rely on Valente because of the great professionalism they found from the very first contact, the value for money and the wide range of technological solutions offered.
On our part, we can only thank them for the trust they have placed in us and congratulate them on their courageous decision to invest in this orchard using the family’s land, previously dedicated to grazing horses, with the idea of growing something that can be passed on to their daughters.