TECHNICAL VISITS
6 May 2022 - from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Vignola and the hills of Cesena
A choice of two tours to explore the main cherry production and processing areas in the Emilia-Romagna region.
Cesena and Longiano
The first tour will take participants to Cesena and Longiano and will be dedicated to specialised, highly sustainable cherry tree growing. Participants will visit two organic farms, which are both members of Apofruit, in the foothills of Cesena. Two prime examples of how, in highly suitable areas, varietal and technical innovation can be easily transferred and adopted in environmentally friendly production systems, such as organic farming, ensuring natural products of the finest quality. The tour will then head to Cesena, where participants will visit the company Battistini Vivai to get a firsthand look at innovations in the field of cherry tree production in a constantly evolving industry, i.e. that of plant nurseries. The tour will end with a visit to Apofruit’s organic processing and packaging plant in Longiano.
Vignola
The second tour will take visitors to the Vignola production area, which is renowned for the high quality of its PGI-certified cherries. Guided tours of experimental farms and commercial orchards are scheduled, during which we will be taking a look at the latest novelties in the field of varieties and rootstocks. We will also get the chance to see and find out more about several innovations in planting systems, rain cover models and multifunctional integrated pest management systems. This full day tour will end with a visit to a modern cherry processing and packaging facility.