Tomato planting in the Caujerí Valley, located in the municipality of San Antonio del Sur, which began in the mountain in mid-September, has so far reached 87 hectares, of the 490 planned for the winter season, extended until February 28.
Considered the main agricultural activity in that important productive hub, due to the actions it generates, the force it involves and the harvest volume it provides, the planting of nightshade began by the Genaro Ortiz Credit and Services Cooperative, located in the community
of Centeno, and the Domingo Hernández Agricultural Production Cooperative, based in El Corojo, both sites with many limitations for irrigation, due to their altitude and remoteness.
Egueny Rodríguez Martínez, general director of the San Antonio del Sur Agricultural Company, said that with the beginning of plantations in those places, they sought to get the benefit of ongoing rainfalls and the residual humidity prevailing in the soil.
He pointed out that October and November are the months of greatest sowing, hence the effort required by the producers and residents of the agricultural emporium to guarantee the planned program.
Given the lack of fertilizers and inputs for phytosanitary protection, the “tomato growers” of the Caujerí Valley have to seek for alternatives such as the use of biological means and biofertilizers, in order to prevent a collapse in yields.
Rodríguez Martínez also said that, as in recent years, the majority volume of the harvest (about 2,700 tons) is committed to the tomato processing industries of the Valley and that of Guaso, the latter in the municipality of Guantanamo, and a smaller amount will be allocated to social consumption and direct sales to the population.
