Farmers in central Cuba plant over 23 thousand acres of fruit trees

HAVANA, Cuba, Jul 18 (acn) Farmers from the Cuban province of Ciego de Avila planted 23,465 acres of tropical fruits on state and private farms and the increase in plantations continues.

In the last two and a half years the province produced more than 150 000 tons of juices, pulps, pastes, puree, nectars, concentrates and other canned products in the industrial complex of Ceballos and small factories, said Armando Lorenzo, leader of the local Agricultural Company.

The program gained strength especially with mango, guava, pineapple, citrus, fruits and others, in plantations rescued after Hurricane Irma, which also damaged papaya, coconut and avocado crops.

The network of nurseries allows better use of the areas and saves resources, because instead of bags, workers use plastic tubes on a tray system, said engineer Alba Gonzalez, deputy director of Ceballos Agro-industrial Company.

Unlike nylon bags, which are usually used in one or two sowing campaigns, the tubes can reach a lifespan of up to more than a decade.

Gonzalez added that they are also making use of agro-ecology in hotbeds and greenhouses, which seeds always exceed 90 percent effectiveness with the support of specialists in Plant Health.

Engineer Deisy Guante Lopez, from the Provincial Delegation of Agriculture, told ACN that rustic nurseries are also being created in peasant farms aimed at improving fruit development and reforestation.