Midlands farmers discusses the adaptation of Catalan almonds.

They will do so in a practical training workshops that are held this week.

The Midlands Association of municipalities of Gran Canaria organized the Thursday and Friday 11 and 12 June a practical training workshops on new plantations of almond introduced on the island, Vairo varieties, Constantí and marinade, brought from Catalonia.

Midlands has spent years working on the revitalization of the sector of the almond in Gran Canaria, performing different actions within the territorial scope, landscape, social, cultural and agricultural.

In February it handed out 2.637 new Almond subsidized by the Town Council and local councils to 30 farmers in Tejeda, Valsequillo, San Bartolomé de Tirajana, San Mateo, and members of the Association of the Gran Canaria almond, that from the 2014 they are participating in the program of recovery and agricultural extension of this crop.

This Conference will be held in six of the 30 farms which were beneficiaries, and they are intended to keep track of these new plantations of almond trees and provide farmers the information and training necessary for the good development of the same.

In Tejeda you will visit farms 'Cañadas Vicente', 'Back home' and 'El Roque' where will be a follow-up to new plantations, their possible diseases and pests, their grafts and green pruning, and your subscriber and irrigation.

Visit to 'La Manzanilla' and 'Lomo Las Pulgas' farms in the Midlands of Tunte, where the elements that should be careful for optimal development of the production of almonds will be scanned and where collected data from valid studies to the intensive exploitation of the almond tree according to the varieties.

The farm 'The corner' of Valsequillo will discuss the adaptation of varieties of almond and tolerance to environmental moisture to the optimal development of the production of almonds.

The supervision of this adaptation will be borne by the agronomist Iñigo Vargas Pando, the SAT Arboretum project manager, an agrarian society of transformation that brings together in Spain to more of 8.500 almonds-producing partners, hazelnuts, nuts and locust beans.

The final assessment of these new almond trees planting, their adaptation and development will be held in the Auditorium of the Commonwealth, in San Mateo, where the Board of Association of the almond of Gran Canaria and agricultural technicians of the Cabildo and the Commonwealth carried out a diagnosis of the almond industry on the island.

The new planting of almond occupies a total area of approximately 66.000 M2 in the insular geography. The purchase of these new Almond was subsidized by the Commonwealth of the Midlands, the Cabildo of Gran Canaria and councils, so that farmers would only have to pay a cost of 1,54 euros per each unit of almond.

These three varieties of almond trees that are intended to introduce in the Midlands of Gran Canaria stand out for being vigorous trees, easy shaping and pruning; with a late flowering to prevent Frost; self-fertilizing because they do not need cross-pollination even though they may benefit from it; abundant flowering and high and regular production capacity; tolerant to diseases such as the fusiccocum and ocher smudge; good aptitude for collection; with fruits of good quality and easy to despelleje shell.