Sicily's avocados revive Etna's abandoned lands
A regional project aims to increase production of the tropical fruit, which currently accounts for 5% of national consumption and has enabled the recovery of areas once cultivated with lemons
by A.Rom.
3' min read
3' min read
As the cultivation line moves ever further north, driven by the climate crisis and rising temperatures, the geography of typical products also changes. Thus, a number of tropical products are about to be added to the already long list of those from Sicily. These now officially include the Sicilian avocado, which with its barely a thousand hectares of cultivated area, concentrated mainly on the eastern slope of Mount Etna, has become the subtropical crop of greatest economic interest in Italy. This is a great opportunity for the region, which however, despite being one of the main producers in Italy, only manages to cover 5% of national demand.
This was the starting point for the project 'Sicilian organic avocado: superfood for the valorisation of the Ionian-Tyrrhenian areas', financed by measure 16.2 of the Regional Rural Development Programme, 'Support for pilot projects and the development of new products, practices, processes and technologies', which saw the Di3A department of the University of Catania, scientific partner, eight farms and a start-up company together. The results of the project were illustrated at the University of Catania by Mario D'Amico (director of the Di3A department), Antonino Luculano (director of the Provincial Inspectorate of Agriculture of Messina), Aurora Ursino (president of the Order of Agronomists and Foresters of the Province of Catania), the project's scientific managers, Di3A lecturers Giancarlo Polizzi and Alberto Continella, and Laura Siracusa (from the CNR's Biomolecular Chemistry Institute), in the presence of the Region's Agriculture, Rural Development and Fisheries Councillor, Salvatore Barbagallo.
Technological innovation in this specific case was aimed at the agronomic improvement of the avocado: the standardisation of farming systems and the increase in the number and size of the fruit, the reduction of alternating production. But also the enhancement of health characteristics, disease management with environmentally friendly measures, and the reduction and utilisation of waste. Lastly, the project saw the birth of Sicily's first avocado oil, a 'super food' product of very high quality, rich in oxidising substances with essential fatty acids and rich in vitamins A, D, E, lecithins and proteins, destined for national and international markets, which can be proposed as a diversification of agricultural activities using waste not suitable for marketing.
The avocado has found its ideal habitat in Sicily, particularly in the coastal areas of the Ionian strip between Catania and Messina and extending as far as the slopes of Mount Etna (no higher than 300 metres above sea level). The majesty of the volcano acts as a barrier to cold winds and makes this strip of land continuously rainy. The avocado needs well-drained, deep and aerated, light and sandy soil, which allows good vegetative and productive development. Etna, in addition to providing protection from the winds and constant humidity, also provides an extraordinary volcanic sand soil that constitutes an ideal fertile humus for plant growth.
The companies participating in the project cultivate almost exclusively the Hass cultivar, limiting the presence of a few other varieties, mainly Fuerte and Bacon, to no more than 10 per cent. The three varieties cover a limited marketing calendar from November to March.
