12 A sea of flowers at 2011 Pack Trials - Floraculture International

World News
by Arturo Croci
Buongiorno!
France
PVR applications
at all-time high
During the first three months of the year 2011,
the Community Plant Variety Office CPVO
received 834 applications for Community plant
variety rights out of which 343 (41%) were
filed for varieties of ornamentals, 267 (32%)
for agricultural crops, 172 (21%) for vegetables,
and 52 (6%) for fruit. The total number of
applications for the first quarter is the highest
ever received.
In 2008, the year the Office received the highest
annual number of applications, “only” 700
applications were submitted by the end of March.
Ornamentals, usually counting for at least half of all
applications have a lower share than expected; by
contrast, applications for agricultural and vegetable
varieties are scoring high. |||
United States
Inspiring
FNGLA
Floriculture
Field Days
Excited, motivated, inspired - attendees came
away from FNGLA's 2011 Floriculture Field Days
using those words to describe the conference.
On May 12 and 13, over 200 attendees came from
across the country to attend the educational conference
and tour performance trials held in conjunction
with the Epcot International Flower & Garden
Festival. Held for the first time at Epcot, it was a
showcase of the season's new varieties.
Not only did industry members get a chance to
see how resilient over 236 varieties are to Florida's
heat and humidity, but attendees participated in a
top-notch educational program, toured private and
public gardens and had a great chance to network
with breeders and peers from across the country. |||
Flowers and tango
After my health problems, every year I try to escape for a couple of weeks
from the cold European winters. The middle of February, right after the
busy Valentine’s Day sales season is the best time to visit Argentina because
the warm, humid summer is usually followed by a nice and pleasant
autumn: beautiful sunny days with temperatures ranging between 15°C
at night and 30°C during the day.
I’m lucky because in the Buenos Aires area I have a lovely aunt, an uncle
and many cousins; this is due to the big Italian emigrations in the last two
centuries. My aunt Effa lives in a special place in the north west of Buenos
Aires; the property bought at the end of the 60s from Aristoteles Onassis
and Maria Callas. In those days, the Onassis family used to spend some
time in Argentina, mainly in order to participate in the Greek Week.
The original Onassis’s wood house doesn’t exist anymore, but the garden
trees have been kept and are those planted by Onassis and Callas, including
a specimem of Cedrus deodara growing just next to the house
designed by the architect Horacio Eduardo Inveraldi. Today, this Cedrus
is considered an Argentine green heritage.
When it come to flora, Argentina has a lot of endemic species, perhaps
more than 10,000 and the potential of many of those has not yet been
fully discovered.
Buenos Aires is a metropolis with 15 million people and lots of greenery
such as beautifully flowering trees like Ceibo (Erythrina crisa-galli,
Argentina’s national tree). Palo borracho (Ceiba speciosa)’, Jacaranda
mimosifolia and Ombù (Phytolacca dioica).. In some areas more maintenance
is needed but the actual economical crisis also had its impact on
the state of urban green. .
Argentinean floriculture, thanks mainly to the ‘Argentinean Japanese’
(Italian, Spanish and other European emigrates who started growing
nursery stock products, fruits or vegetables) produces for the local market
. The different provinces have a lot of possibilities in growing plants and
flowers ‘accordingly’ with the special local climates (varying from the very
cold areas in the south to the tropical areas at the Brazilian border.
The main production areas are: Buenos Aires, Chubut, Córdoba, Corrientes,
Entre Ríos, Formosa, La Pampa, Mendoza, Misiones, Salta, Santa
Fe and Tucumán.
According to the ‘Fondo Argentino para la Floricultura’ the area dedicated
to professional flower and plant growing is 2465,48 ha; 634,02 ha
are protected crops (plastic tunnels). 51% is in the metropolitan areas;
70.81% in Buenos Aires and Santa Fe Provinces), 42.6% of the producers
deal with cut flowers, 30.6% with potted plants and the remaining both
flowers and pot plants.
Argentina is a country with great natural resources and a good potential
in floriculture and nursery. The demand for flowers and plants is growing
even if the effects of the economic downturn is hindering growth.
Viva la vida
Arturo Croci is the founder of Italy's leading
horticultural business magazine Flortecnica and
a walking encyclopedia of Italian horticulture.
arturo@floracultureinternational.com
June 2011 | www.FloraCultureInternational.com 19