Climate benefits fig production in RS

The climate in Rio Grande do Sul has been favorable for fig producers, it is raining regularly and the crop has a great need for water, with the fruits forming in the summer period. According to the Economic Information released by Emater/RS-Ascar, the Vale do Caí region is one of the largest fig tree growing areas in the State, with emphasis on the municipality of Feliz, where there are 120 hectares dedicated to the production of the fruit.

The most cultivated variety is Roxo de Valinhos, and the fig is harvested and sold in two ways: with the fruit still green, when it is intended for processing by the jam industries; or ripe, to serve as raw material in the schmier-type sweet industries or for natural consumption, explain the Emater/RS-Ascar technicians.

In the municipalities of Feliz, Bom Princípio, São José do Hortêncio and São Sebastião do Caí, the majority of figs are harvested ripe and sold in the natural market, to the Ceasas of Porto Alegre and Caxias do Sul, or destined for the candy industries. .

The harvesting work is just beginning, with the percentage of green figs harvested reaching 5%. The ripe fruit has not yet started. In addition to harvesting, fruit growers carry out treatments to control fig rust – the main disease that affects the crop – with emphasis on the use of Bordeaux mixture, which is the most used and quite common method in organic agriculture.

In Brochier, Maratá, Poço das Antas and São Pedro da Serra, most of the figs are harvested green and sold to the jam industries, both in the region and in the municipality of Pelotas. The price received by producers for green figs is on average R$3,00 per kilo.