After some slow steps to begin with, the pace is picking up for Tango mandarin production in Chile where 600 hectares of the seedless variety are now planted. With traditional growing areas in the north wracked by drought, producers have found microclimates in more southerly zones where the late-season fruit can withstand the winter cold. Conditions have required some tinkering in the field but results have been positive, prompting an optimistic outlook for exports. 

An unused hillside block in Pichidegua was not Agrícola Llahuen's first choice for growing Tango mandarins, but after a few years conditions have proven apt for production with yields of 15 metric tons (MT) per hectare - a figure that should pick up to 60MT/ha within three years.

"We had a delay in the planting project because it coincided with the drought in northern Chile, and the south-central zone of Chile is more limited for citrus production in terms of climate," managing director Jaime Maruri tells www.freshfruitportal.com.

"We have to find specific areas where there are no frosts, because Tango is a variety that goes through the whole winter with fruit on the tree and it’s harvested at the end of winter in the spring."

The company, which represents University of California fruit varieties in Chile, brought the cultivar to the country in 2009 but it wasn't until 2011 that the first orchards were planted.

"We met with a large grower in the area around Peumo and Las Cabras [near Pichidegua], which is La Rosa Sofruco. They were very interested from the start and they had the first orchard," he says.

"In that zone it has a micro-climate where there are still frosts but they’re not as heavy as in other regions because of the micro climate. It could be because Lake Rapel is close with an air flow towards the sea.

"Then we thought, if we're going to license the variety, why not produce it ourselves too?"

And the rest is history. Llahuen has since obtained more land taking its total area under management to 220ha, of 1,000ha licensed in Chile itself with other growers including Exser and Subsole.

The Pichidegua farm's hillside location allows for masses of cold air to drop towards the lower parts of the valley, thus mitigating the effects of frost. Meanwhile, with the help of a Spanish consultant the company has also employed a technique of opening up the center of the tree by strapping back the two main branches into a 'V' shape.

"We are in the southernmost part of Chile for citrus production," emphasizes farm manager Mario Correa.

"The issue of opening it in a way that's ventilated and open through the two principal branches is fundamental for producing good induction, because we have very few hot days to produce the flowers.

"This hasn't been done much in citrus in Chile," adds Maruri.

But why go to all this effort just so these easy peelers can grow somewhere new? For Maruri, the answer lies in market trends towards seedless varieties and the inherent advantages Tangos have over Nadorcotts, also known as Murcotts or Afourers.

Marketing plans

For a bit of context, the University of California created the Tango variety by irradiating Nadorcott budwood, leading to a fruit that is truly seedless no matter what the context.

This cannot be said of the Nadorcott, which can only be truly seedless under strict circumstances.

"Effectively there are  three ways not to have seeds in Nadorcott - one is isolation which is possible but difficult, and increasingly difficult as bees [which pollinate and thus cause the appearance of seeds] can travel very far," says Maruri.

"The second way is to eliminate the bees during the flowering period. That's a practice that has been done but it's absolutely environmentally unfriendly. You just can’t be applying products to kill bees

"There's a movement for the protection of bees around the world, there is concern, so you would be moving against that trend."

He says the third way to get seedless Murcotts is to set up nets during the flowering period, but this has implications on cost and also production because it means there's less pollination.

"When a grower has the possibility to plant mandarins, they have to choose Murcott varieties with the possibility of seeds, or Tango which really don’t have seeds. And I think the future of the world citrus market will be for seedless mandarins.

"In future, the issue of commercialization of the variety will be significant, and the efforts have to be focused. Right now it sells easily because there isn’t a lot of fruit, but when there’s volume this could become a commodity."

Llahuen is working with Spanish master licensor Eurosemillas on marketing plans for Europe, as well as for efforts in the U.S. and Asia.

He says a society has been formed with U.S. marketer Sun Pacific, going by the name Pacific Tango S.A. with 400ha planned for production in Chile.

"We’re doing a project for the United States with the brand Cuties which has had a lot of success. We want to have the highest amount of fruit under the Cuties program," he says.

He adds the fruit is likely to meet Sun Pacific's standards as the large differences between day and night temperatures in Chile lead to very good coloring and high levels of soluble solids, which convert into natural sugars.

"We also want to reach an agreement with a large importer in Europe with a presence in many countries, and be able to position the brand through its channels where it’s possible.

"We want to have trade the protects the variety and maintains the price over the long term.

"The idea is to do it in the United States, Europe and Asia, even though now Chilean citrus can’t be shipped to China. It's an issue that has to be worked on to open the Chinese market for Chilean citrus. Nectarines are more on track than citrus."

Llahuen comfortable with Tango's legal situation

Another important issue with Tango is its origins relating to Nadorcott, which have prompted a plethora of legal cases brought by France-based Nador Cott Protection (NCP), owned by King Mohammed VI of Morocco.

A recent ruling from Europe's Community Plant Variety Office (CPVO) gave further weight to the legal grounding for Tango as a unique variety in Europe, giving Maruri 100% assurance of the cultivar's legality.

"In Chile the variety Nadorcott or Murcott is not protected," he says.

"It’s registered as a legal variety so there is no problem exporting it to Europe."

The upcoming harvest

Maruri says the upcoming harvest will be in August and September, and this is an added benefit as it's a period when more farmworkers are available in between other fruit seasons. Nonetheless, even with the town of Santa Cruz very close by, Llahuen will still need to attract enough workers to move seven trucks' worth of fruit a day during the peak of the season.

"This is the first year we'll be exporting from here. Sofruco has exported before but this will be our first year exporting – we expect to send a percentage and a more important percentage to the United States, all via seafreight.

"That will be at the end of August, and it’ll be in the United States market in the first days of October, and in England a bit after that."

And the buck does not stop there for Llahuen, which is also developing plans for other irradiated seedless citrus varieties developed from Kinnow mandarins and lemons, currently going through customs in Chile.

www.freshfruitportal.com