Pippo Timperanza of the Italian Landolina company

Due to ToBRFV, certain tomato varieties have now become obsolete

“These days, it is not easy to maintain one’s own entrepreneurial policy. We have worked for more than 60 years to harmoniously maintain the balance between tradition and innovation, paying particular attention to ethical principles such as a short supply chain, traceability and respect for the cultivation methods that my family has maintained over several generations. But today we have to face a series of problems that force us to reevaluate and adjust our way of cultivating,” said Pippo Timperanza, director of the Italian cultivation company Landolina.

 Pippo Timperanza

The 40-hectare company from the Sicilian province of Ragusa specializes in substrate cultivation. The cherry, plum and piccadilly tomatoes that Landolina markets are grown in greenhouses covering an area of 10 hectares. In recent years, the focus has shifted to sustainable zero-residue cultivation, a concept that is currently catching on in the sales markets.

 Potted plum tomato TT-633

“The new consumption trends have a lot of influence and we have to learn to understand and welcome them. For example, over the years there has been a lot more focus on food safety and environmental sustainability. As growers, we have to react to this by offering products with a high added value that meet these consumers’ values. We are talking about solar panels and the use of environmentally friendly technical means such as biostimulants and organic plant protection products, but also about adequate water management with recycling of wastewater for fertigation. Each of our choices is the result of dialogue with our commercial partners and thus indirectly with consumers. And to this we now add some of the complex problems that we face as growers today,” said Timperanza.

 Drip irrigation

“Tomato growers are faced with extremely complex challenges that individual growers alone cannot answer. On the one hand, there is the corona virus that has exacerbated the age-old problem of price volatility, and on the other hand, there is the unstoppable spread of the ToBRFV virus.”

 Potted plum tomato TT-633

In terms of cultivation, Tomato Brown Rugose Fruit Virus is the most serious and urgent problem that needs to be addressed. Even if the fruit is not directly damaged, the harvest is lower, the tomatoes are smaller, and they lose color and consistency.

“To tackle the ToBRFV problem, we tested TomaTech’s plum tomato TT-633 last year and are continuing with this variety again this year. Over the long cycle with planting at the end of the summer, which is the most challenging, we have achieved excellent results in terms of yield, consistency and taste. From a technical point of view, we did not encounter any problems in terms of cultivation and the shelf life of the tomatoes is very good, which makes it a suitable product for the Italian and foreign supermarkets. We couldn’t have made a better choice.”

For more information:
Azienda Landolina
Contrada Currumeli Donnalucata 
97010 Scicli (RG) 
+39 335 6582914
agricolilandolina@alice.it

Publication date: Thu 12 Aug 2021