Corrado, lettuce grower
Spinelli Farm, Villafranca (Verona, Italy)
A farm specialising in the open-field production of head lettuce for the domestic market.
Known for the high quality of its produce, the farm began using BioAksxter® in February 2006 on part of its cultivated area, with the aim of improving soil fertility, addressing soil fatigue and further enhancing crop quality and yields.
From the first growing cycles, improved plant development, increased leaf thickness and reduced produce rejection were observed. In terms of quality, improvements were recorded in colour, crispness, flavour and storage life.
After six months of cultivation with BioAksxter®, the harvest from the treated area showed an average increase of approximately 100 grams per plant, resulting from increased head weight and reduced rejection rates. The combined benefits obtained through the use of BioAksxter® generated an economic return equivalent to 18 times the initial expenditure.
September 2006. Gentile lettuce crop after six months of treatment with BioAksxter®, characterised by high uniformity.
September 2006. Head of Lollo lettuce grown with BioAksxter®.
September 2006. Iceberg and red Gentile lettuce crops during the third growing cycle with BioAksxter®. The intense colouration and glossy leaves are clearly visible.
In subsequent years, agronomic performance and crop yields improved further:
- Tomato cultivation, carried out on part of the farm's land in 2007 and 2008, produced excellent results across all varieties. Plants developed uniformly, and the produce was characterised by high uniformity, large fruit size, intense colour and excellent flavour.
- Consistent lettuce growth and shorter development times made it possible to carry out a fourth transplanting cycle on 75% of the farm's cultivated area.
Before BioAksxter® was introduced into the farm's agronomic practices, a fourth transplanting cycle was only carried out on a small part of the farm.
June 2007. Cluster tomato crop during the second year of cultivation with BioAksxter®. Vegetative growth is regular and uniform.
June 2007. Datterino tomatoes grown with BioAksxter®, characterised by intense colour and uniform fruit size.
March 2008. Gentile lettuce crop during the third year of cultivation with BioAksxter®, ready for harvesting.
- The uniform growth of all lettuce heads made it possible to harvest the entire crop in a single pass, reducing harvesting time and labour costs.
- Enhanced natural plant defences reduced the incidence of downy mildew (Bremia) and bacterial diseases, simplifying crop protection. Furthermore, timely application of BioAksxter® during periods of severe adverse weather conditions consistently protected the harvest.
October 2009. Lettuce crop grown with BioAksxter®, showing excellent plant health despite adverse weather conditions.
October 2009. Gentile lettuce crop grown with BioAksxter®, showing excellent plant health despite adverse weather conditions.
October 2009. Gentile lettuce heads grown with BioAksxter®, free from bacterial and fungal diseases despite adverse weather conditions.
- The overall increase in production resulting from the use of BioAksxter® was 40%.
- Firmer texture, longer storage life and sweeter flavour, recognised by market operators purchasing produce from the farm, led to increased demand.
June 2010. Lettuce crop grown with BioAksxter®, characterised by particularly intense colouration.
June 2010. Lettuce crop grown with BioAksxter®, characterised by particularly thick leaves.
Application of BioAksxter® a few days before harvesting.
The grower, who had expressed satisfaction with the results obtained with BioAksxter® from the outset, stated in 2010 that he would never consider giving up its use.
