Watermelon

Società Agricola C.O.P.A. produces different types of watermelon: CW, long, seedless, midi and baby.

Watermelon production has increased in recent years due to growing market demand, in particular for the seedless, midi and baby varieties.
The seedless variety is intended primarily for the north European market.
The midi variety, which is also seedless, weighs 5-7kg, has red flesh and is firm and fragrant. It has the classic striped skin of the crimson watermelon.
The baby variety weighs between 1.8 and 3kg, is very sweet with few seeds and has a thin skin making it the ideal product for small families.

PRODUCTION PERIOD

The watermelon production period begins in the second 10 days of June and continues until the first week of September depending on the weather conditions.

PRODUCTION

Different watermelon varieties are grown by the cooperative, with fruit that vary from round to elongated, so as to satisfy all the tastes of our consumers.
The plants used for production are almost exclusively grafted and this ensures higher yield and better resistance to disease and stress. The plants are grown in open fields and the maturation and subsequent harvest of the fruit are affected by the ripening of the watermelons, which varies depending on the age of the graft and the plant variety. By accompanying plant growth with adequate fertilization and phytosanitary defences the cooperative succeeds in producing high quality, fragrant watermelons that are sweet with a beautiful deep red colour.

QUANTITIES

Every year, Società Agricola C.O.P.A. produces between 2,500 and 3,500 tons of product investing around 30-45 hectares of its producer members’ land in this crop.

PACKING

Watermelons arrive at the cooperative from the fields as soon as possible, thereby reducing the time between harvesting and dispatch. In the cooperative the fruit pass through a modern brushing line and weight-price labeller. This line cleans the skin and affixes the label showing the price per kg.

Once weighed and labelled, the watermelons are packed in bins or cardboard boxes, then dispatched to customers.