Josep Maria Font – Giropoma

Pink Lady, the apple on the table and in social initiatives

A striking red apple with a name that makes it seem sweet without even having tasted it, but that brings you closer to what this variety has to offer. The Pink Lady stands out for its bicolour tone between reddish pink and pale green. It is one of the apples that Giropoma has been selling for a long time and this year, it has started to be harvested and sold this November.

Of Australian origin, it was born in 1973 when the researcher John Cripps made a natural cross between two varieties of apple: Golden Delicious and Lady Williams. It was in 1994-1995 when the first trees were planted in Europe, specifically in France, and this new variety crossed the continent. In 1997, nursery owners, growers and distributors joined forces to create the Pink Lady® Europe association, and in 1998-1999, Spanish and Italian growers joined the Pink Lady® adventure.

The harvest of the Pink Lady is one of those that starts later, between the end of October and the beginning of November, because the fruit needs time to acquire maturity and the desired colour, characteristics that it achieves in the last weeks of ripening on the tree.

It is an ideal apple for eating fresh, making juices and is widely used in salads and to accompany meat and fish, due to its flavour which manages to combine sweetness with acidity in a very balanced way, as well as being comforting and refreshing. The variety, with a thin skin and a very aromatic burnt-coloured flesh, has a crunchy and juicy texture. It also contains natural fibre that helps to improve intestinal traffic, is antioxidant, provides vitamin C and contains 80% water.

In addition, it is a fruit with a transversal function as it has a high social commitment. Not only does it satisfy its consumers at the table, but in 2016 the Pink Lady Foundation was created to support business projects run by women. And it doesn’t stop there: in 2020, the variety launched its charter of commitments, which integrates the three pillars of sustainable development (environmental, social and economic issues).

Along these lines, several solidarity initiatives have also been organised, such as the “Sponsor a tree “ day, during which an outing was organised to one of Giropoma ”s fields with the aim of bringing the world of agriculture closer to the people, being absolutely transparent throughout the chain and generating a meeting point between consumers.

It should be emphasised that Pink Lady is a successful variety developed under the Club umbrella, which means that it has to comply with specific quality standards and is marketed by a limited number of producers, of which Giropoma is a member, following specific practices and committed to the environment. In this sense, it follows Giropoma ‘s mission, which is to offer healthy, high quality apples, always following the values that define the company: the defence of the territory and the rural environment, respect for the environment, proximity, commitment and a commitment to people.

La Granny Smith, the bakery apple

The Granny Smith variety first emerged in Australia in 1868 after Grandmother Smith (Maria Anna Smith Sherwood) created the first artificial grafting by crossing two species. The story said that the apple originated by a stream near her farm from the remains of several wild apples that Maria Ann had composted. Although its creator died, local farmers continued the cultivation and today it is one of the most appreciated by consumers.

The Granny Smith is a deep green apple, which may have very marked whitish lenticels. It is very round, with a whitish flesh, a very crunchy texture, not very sweet, juicy and with a very characteristic acid taste . It is an ideal variety to eat fresh and to prepare salads and pastries, because it takes longer to oxidise than other apples. It is a very versatile variety that can be eaten raw or cooked and is very famous for being one of the most used for apple pie and confectionery products such as apple compote, as it is used to compensate with its acidity the sweetness of sugar. The sour apple helps to prevent the final product from being too sweet and, in addition, this variety manages to keep its shape when baked. In this sense, although there are many types of apples, some have a better texture to be used in salads and others have an optimal consistency to be boiled or baked, as they need to have a firm flesh and a sweet and sour taste. Granny Smith is a favourite for these cases because it does not lose its aroma or its succulence.

Apples are high in vitamins and minerals such as potassium, phosphorus and calcium. In short, they provide a high quantity of healthy qualities. The optimum harvest time for this variety is in October and it can be found until the end of June. It is one of the varieties that Giropoma produces and markets. Along with the Gala, Golden and Red Delicious, the Granny Smith receives the internationally recognised Protected Geographical Indication Manzana de Girona seal, which differentiates the product and is a guarantee of quality and a link with the territory.

The company works to defend the territory and the rural environment, respect for the environment, proximity, commitment and commitment to people and its mission is to offer healthy, high quality apples. In addition to Granny Smith, 7 other varieties of apples are produced and marketed: Golden, Fuji, Pink Lady® (Cripps Pink variety), Red Delicious, Royal Gala, Candine® (Regalyou variety) and Joya® (Cripps Red variety).

Giropoma participates in the Fruit Attraction Fair, which this year focuses on technological innovation in the sector

Giropoma has participated for the sixteenth consecutive year in the Fruit Attraction 2024 Fair that took place in Madrid from the 8th to the 10th of October. This event has become the commercial tool of reference for the global marketing of fruit and vegetables. It is therefore the commercial connection point for all the professionals that make up the value chain, given its capacity to promote world exports in the sector, as well as having established itself as a framework for innovation in the fruit and vegetable market. The event is organised by IFEMA MADRID and FEPEX with Andalusia as Guest Region.

As a new feature of this edition, special importance has been given to the Innova&Tech area dedicated to innovation and development of the most innovative techniques and products that help fruit and vegetable production to successfully face several current challenges such as sustainability, water management or increased production. In this sense, the new area has had the Biotech Attraction and Smart Agro sectors, being a space that has been destined to innovation, research and technological development companies in agrobiology/plant biotechnology and to innovative producers that apply information technologies to the sector (applications, YATE, big data, monitoring, automation, digitalisation, etc.).

This year’s edition has registered the highest participation in history with 2,146 exhibitor companies from 56 different countries, which represents an increase of 7% compared to last year, and more than 70 square kilometres of exhibition space spread over 10 pavilions, with an attendance of more than 100,000 professionals from 145 countries, according to data from Fruit Attraction. This year the “guest importing countries ’ were China and Saudi Arabia. With this, the fair has opened up trade relations with these markets.

In this sense, it is shown that the international segment has registered an important growth, with 45% of the total occupancy of the fair and with the incorporation of 102 companies. Giropoma has been one of the exhibitors present at the fair since its inception and, since then, it has been an ideal space to strengthen relationships with its customers, create synergies, establish business relationships and share impressions.

Giropoma favours biodiversity in the field for sustainable pest control

The coexistence of the greatest number of species in the same place and maintaining the balance of the ecosystem are key objectives in Giropoma‘s production. The company places special emphasis on favouring biodiversity in the field and activating useful fauna for sustainable crop growth. In this sense, the company seeks to create habitats through the development of various populations in nest boxes, insect hotels or with the conservation of trees and margins around the farms, as well as with the availability of water and the maintenance of grass between rows with a diversity of flowers. These techniques succeed in creating comfortable elements and environments for species to feed, establish refuges and reproduce.
‘These methods allow us to control the increase in pests or even bring them down to levels that do not cause damage to crops. In addition, there are species that can feed on this pest and this generates an increase in the population and, at the same time, benefits’, emphasises Cèsar Saiz, technical director of Giropoma.
All Giropoma’s fields follow the principles of the Catalan Council for Integrated Production (CCPI), choosing measures that aim to promote biodiversity -such as the installation of refuges-, the establishment of ecological compensation zones or the maintenance of the vegetation cover of the soil. Integrated production is the best system for crop protection and the basis for sustainable crop growth and pesticide risk reduction. The corporation points out that in growers’ fields there is often a large number of useful fauna, such as ladybirds, which help against pests. In addition, the CICC knows in which plots of land the products obtained following these criteria have been cultivated and what actions have been carried out in each plantation. ‘These practices are a further aid to successful production. However, they are not infallible methods and require observation of what is happening with biodiversity throughout the year,’ Saiz stresses.

Giropoma is one of the producers of the Catalan Council that since 2018 has implemented an irrigation system based on soil moisture sensors distributed throughout the production area, which through the data extracted – indicating the humidity and water available for the apple trees – and the weather forecast, allows them to give irrigation recommendations to minimise water consumption, control its correct distribution and the suitability of the means used.

In addition, the Catalan Council of Integrated Production contracts the control entities, accredited by the Spanish National Accreditation Entity (ENAC) in compliance with the EN-17.065 standard, to guarantee the monitoring of these standards. Giropoma is certified by the CCPI, so all the company’s products comply with the technical standards and regulations in force governing this agricultural production. In this line, Giropoma’s aim is to offer healthy, high quality apples, always following the values that define the company: the defence of the territory and the rural environment, respect for the environment, proximity, commitment and a commitment to people.

Giropoma kicks off the 2024 harvest with the traditional summer Fruit Day and the symbolic act of the first apple of Girona

One more year, Giropoma has attended the Summer Fruit Day, the traditional technical day dedicated to apple trees, which took place last August 7, 2024 at the Institute of Agri-Food Research and Technology (IRTA) Mas Badia in Tallada d’Empordà.

In this year’s edition, we had the opportunity to visit ongoing trials related to crop technology, as well as the guided exhibition of varieties and apple tasting. We were also able to observe several innovations in machinery dedicated to counting flowers and fruit through artificial vision, to optimize phytosanitary treatments with variable atomization system and to pick apples by aspiration.

In addition, part of the information presented was the result of the “FRUITSCAN” and “DRIVE SYSTEMS” demonstrations; and of the “PICKBEST”, “SCABKILL” and “POMELIFE” Operational Groups, associations of several partners with common interests around a specific and practical innovation project.

During the tour of the day’s field stations, we learned about high density training systems in replanting situation and G.41 rootstock; new selections of the Gala variety; the differences between organic materials in nitrogen mineralization; the Demo FruitScan, artificial vision technologies for thinning management and crop estimation in plantations. new selections of the Gala variety; the differences between organic materials in nitrogen mineralization; the Demo FruitScan, artificial vision technologies for thinning management and crop estimation in fruit orchards, in collaboration with Vivid machines and CClair; GO PICKBEST, results of the best harvested Gala and Golden apples and new tools to measure ripening; GO SCABKILL, precision treatments and other strategies to rationalize the use of phytosanitary products; GO POMELIFE, renaturation as a tool for vole management; and the apple harvesting machine for industry, PomAvall project, in collaboration with PomAvall Harvesting Solutions.

A week later, the symbolic event of the harvest of the first Girona apple 2024 took place at IRTA Mas Badia, the annual event organized by the Protected Geographical Indication Poma de Girona to mark the start of the Gala pome harvest.

Although it continues to be a year marked by the drought and high temperatures of the season, it is expected a harvest higher than the previous year with 96,290 tons, being the second highest production after that of 2021.

Two traditional events attended by the main companies and professionals of the fruit sector of Girona and the rest of Catalonia, to know the current situation of the sector, the challenges, the novelties… as well as to create links and synergies with the rest of professionals.

La Gala, a much-loved apple

The Gala variety was first discovered in New Zealand in 1939. Its ability to adapt to climatic conditions and its resistance to disease make it a very attractive option for growers and consumers around the world. It is a highly appreciated summer apple that has captivated the palate of everyone who has tasted it, especially the one from Girona, with ideal characteristics thanks to its proximity to the sea.

The Gala is a red striated apple on a creamy yellow background. It has an attractive skin, rounded shape and white flesh. It is crunchy, sweet and has an acid point that gives it a very good taste balance. Its optimum harvest time is August and it can be found until March.

Its tree is tall, vigorous, vigorous, with a quick entry into production and very resistant to frost. It is Giropoma’s earliest apple and is characterized by a very good response to cold storage, which allows to provide the necessary cold and suitable atmospheric conditions to the apples, to delay their ripening process and to guarantee their quality throughout the year.

This is one of the varieties that Giropoma produces and markets under the umbrella of the Protected Geographical Indication Poma de Girona, a seal of international recognition, product differentiation, evidence of quality and link with the territory.

It is an ideal apple for fresh consumption and for various culinary applications, such as jams, pies, salads and sauces.

Apples are an essential part of a healthy and balanced diet. They help prevent cardiovascular problems and inflammatory diseases, as well as helping to digest the fats we consume, provide a large amount of fiber that helps the digestive system to function properly, are rich in vitamins and minerals and have antioxidant properties.

Intense and bright red, this is Red Delicious

Red Delicious is an apple native to the United States, a very popular variety in many markets thanks to its attractive appearance and its adaptability to cultivation in various regions. Its intense, bright red color and size make it a very interesting choice for growers and consumers everywhere.

It is known for its bright red color on almost the entire surface, as well as the large caliber that characterizes it. Its flesh is whitish, juicy, sweet tasting and very aromatic. It is mainly consumed raw and is also used to make fruit salads and salads. It is harvested at the beginning of September and can be found until the end of July.

It is a variety that adapts easily to various climatic conditions and grows in very well-drained and fertile soils. The location of the company’s producer-partners’ fields, with soils with fluvial materials and good drainage and the Mediterranean climate, allow for unique and high-quality apples.

This is one of the varieties that Giropoma produces and markets under the umbrella of the Protected Geographical Indication Poma de Girona, together with Gala, Golden and Granny Smith. This is a seal of international recognition, product differentiation, quality assurance and link with the territory.

At Giropoma we work to offer healthy and high-quality apples, always following the values that define us: the defense of the territory and the rural environment, respect for the environment, proximity, commitment and commitment to people. We are committed to local, fresh and seasonal products to encourage a healthier and more sustainable diet.

In addition to Red Delicious, we produce and market 7 other varieties of apples, which you can discover on our website: Golden, Granny Smith, Pink Lady® (Cripps Pink variety), Fuji, Royal Gala, Candine® (Regalyou variety) and Joya® (Cripps Red variety).

Giropoma forecasts a very good harvest

In February 2024, the Government declared the emergency state of drought of the Ter – Llobregat System, when the reserves were below 100 hm³ of its capacity. In May 2024, the level of reserves in the reservoirs recovered to 24.8% with 154 hm³, going from emergency status to exceptional status, with a growing trend due to floods and thawing.

While continuing to be a year marked by drought, Giropoma expects an increase in the harvest compared to the previous year.

This increase is due, in part, to the weather, which has played a crucial role in this year’s harvest. The favorable weather conditions have clustered the blooms, favoring the fruit size and a good cellular multiplication, which will be reflected in good size and shape buds. Despite initial concerns about the drought, it has not been a major constraint to fruit production.

In all, for some time now, Giropoma has been carrying out an efficient water management by using the watering system based on silt humidity sensors, a monitoring of the silt based on probes that measure the volumetric water content in the silt, and depending on this volume, it is known how much water is available.

The rainfalls of the last weeks have allowed an important water reserve and have favored the growth of the plants, arriving at the beginning of the harvest with good expectations.

All this makes it possible that Giropoma expects a very good quality of grapes, in terms of a good fermentation and an excellent content in sugars.

We hope that these positive forecasts will be maintained until the end of the harvest season, thus guaranteeing an abundant and quality production.

About Giropoma’s varieties

Giropoma currently markets 8 different varieties of pomes. The Gala, Golden, Red Delicious and Granny Smith varieties, which are under the PGI Poma de Girona, the Fuji and the club varieties, the Regalyou marketed under the Candine® brand, the Cripps Pink marketed under the Pink Lady® brand and the Cripps Red marketed under the Joya® brand.

All of them are essential to maintain a balanced and healthy diet, as they are highly moisturizing, contain vitamins and minerals, have antioxidant properties, promote the proper functioning of the digestive system thanks to the fiber they contain and help prevent cardiovascular problems and inflammatory diseases.

We hope that these positive forecasts will be maintained until the end of the harvest season, thus guaranteeing an abundant and quality production.

New filtration station enables Giropoma to reduce water consumption

Recently, Giropoma has made a new bet on technology and has installed a water filtering station in the first stage of the water circuit of the pre-sizing machine. In this first stage, the pallets of apples coming directly from the field are emptied, being this the first washing process that the apples receive.

With the installation of this station, Giropoma manages to eliminate all the soil, mud and organic matter in suspension from the water to keep it at an optimum quality level and, consequently, reduce consumption, since it avoids having to change it daily.

It is a filter, controlled by a web application, which consists of two tanks. A first one where the solids are precipitated, and a second one, which by means of a specific flint filter for the elimination of water turbidity and the retention of solids, filters the water to achieve a turbidity level lower than 1NTU (Nephelometric Turbidity United). In this type of filter, a cyclic backwash has to be applied, which uses a lot of water that until now could not be reused. However, with the technology installed, the apple producing and marketing company has been able to carry out a continuous backwashing of the water, separating this water and conducting it to the beginning of the filtering cycle, making the loss of this water to be zero.

This water filtration keeps the water clean and rigorously improves its disinfection over long periods of time.

Once again, Giropoma has opted for innovation to continue working on the company’s efficiency and sustainability.

Giropoma participates again in the solidarity initiative Gala Pro Baix Ter

For the fourth consecutive year, Giropoma has organized together with the Auditorium Theater Espai Ter (Torroella de Montgrí) the IV Gala Pro Baix Ter 2024, which was held last Sunday, May 26 at its facilities. The solidarity initiative aims to support and raise funds for projects of social interest in the Baix Ter.

In this year’s edition, the funds raised will again be used to carry out improvement projects in the school environments of the 7 nursery and primary schools of Baix Ter.

The kick-off of the Gala coincided with the II Festival of the AFA of Baix Ter, which was held in front of the auditorium with an open day and workshops and outdoor activities. In addition, it was also possible to buy Giropoma‘s solidarity cakes and apples to collaborate with the initiative.

Then, the celebration continued inside with the show of Dàmaris Gelabert, with her farewell tour after 25 years on stage, accompanied by The Grow Up Singing Band and a group of young dancers. A review of her extensive career and a reunion with fans who have grown up listening and singing her songs, as well as those who have recently begun to enjoy them.

David Casadellà, president of the apple producer and marketer, believes that this initiative is fully in line with Giropoma‘s values. “The values that define us are the defense of the territory and the rural environment and proximity. We are proud to promote projects that contribute to improving the quality of life of people and the landscape of the Baix Ter area”.

After a first edition in 2021, where the collection was directed to the residences of elderly people, a second in 2022, where the funds collected went to the ADF Montgrí and Puig Segalar, and a third in 2023 in which the results obtained were released entirely to the Associations of Families of Pupils of the 7 nursery and primary schools of Baix Ter, this fourth has also been dedicated to the AFA of Baix Ter.