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GROWING OF PISTACHIO |
Pistachio
trees have been caltivated in Aegina since 1860, later speading
to otherparts of Attica and Greece.
Throughout Aegina, the
dominant variety is known by the name " Aeginis",
or "koilarati" meaning " round", a variety
considered high-yieding and of a quality lacking in foreign
varieties. |
The
ideal climate of the island and the unique soil composition
lend exceptional flavour and aroma to the Aegina pistachio.
This has distinquished it from other pistachios and earning
well-deserved recognition as the finestpistachio in the world. |
The exclusive right to identify the pistachio
as "Aegina
pistachio" was secured by the E.U.
regulation of 1263/96,
protecting the local
pistachio
from those of other regions.
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THE PISTACHIO CULTIVATION(A.
F. Xatziperi - Agriculturalist) |
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The
terebinth (photo 1) belongs to the same family as the pistachio and is the hardiest and most suitable
rootstock upon which the pistachio can be grafted.
The leaves
start to fall in
November (photo 2) and the trees remain bare until the end
of March. |
During this dormant phase, the orchards are fertilized and tilled, and the trees
are pruned.
The buds begin to swell around the beginning
of April (photo
3).
The female pistachio begins to bloom
in the first two weeks of April (photo 4 - female panicle
ready for pollination). |
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For
pollination to take place, a male tree is necessary, from
which the pollen is carried by the wind (photo 5 - male pistachio).
In the last two weeks of April, the pistachios are beginning
to set (photo 6). |
By the end of July, the nuts are not yet ripe (photo 7-8).
But
the shell has hardened and the kernel which has appeared
at the beginning of June continues its development. |
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The
outer hulls of the filled nuts when fully mature acquire
a rosy-red colour where directly exposed to the sun (photo
9).
Harvest Period:
When the skil softens and comes away from the shell easily,
it is ready for harvest, around the end of August through
September. |
To harvest the nuts, long sticks whose ends are covered with rubber or cloth
are used to beat the branches without injuring them.
Large
collecting tarps are spread beneath the trees (photo 10) and
the nuts are collected and bagged
to the tranffered as quickly
as possible to the hulling machines so that the shell does
not turn black and render the nuts commercialy unviable. |
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