Interpoma Tours 2024, a firsthand look at industry best practices

Fiera Bolzano has organized these guided tours during the three days of Interpoma, the world’s only trade show dedicated exclusively to apples, planned between November 21 and 23. The program is now online: A total of nine tours spread over three days taking participants to apple-growing companies in the region: Three on Thursday, November 21, five on Friday, November 22, and one on Saturday, November 23. The tours will be in English to ensure an as big, diverse, and international crowd as possible.

Thomas Mur, Director of Fiera Bolzano, says:

“The goal is crystal clear: We want our visitors and the press to experience the latest, cutting-edge technologies in the sector firsthand. We also want to raise awareness about the advanced state of apple-growing in the region and showcase some of the most innovative growing and processing systems.”

Tour 1 | “Don’t panic... it’s organic! Production and market strategies”

Visit Franz Ladurner, an organic company in Naturno, and the Juval fruit-growing cooperative’s organic packaging center in Val Venosta, in Castelbello. Franz Ladurner farm’s position is ideal for organic apple-growing, for it boasts a sun-kissed, windy location nestled between the forests and river. Juval is one of the seven fruit-growing cooperatives in Val Venosta, part of the VI.P umbrella group, and processes Val Venosta’s entire organic fruit crop.

Tour 2 | “Towards the orchard of the future. R&D on apple at the Laimburg Research Centre”

Visit experimental orchards and the Laimburg Integrated Digital Orchard (LIDO) for the latest innovations in fruit growing. The experimental warehouse will provide insights into the status quo of controlled atmosphere storage and post-harvest research.

Tour 3 | “The future is now. High technology and new visions for cultivation”

Visit Manfred Ladurner’s family-run fruit-growing company in Coldrano. Here, he will showcase an example of variety experimentation. The tour then continues to the Texel (VI.P) cooperative in Naturno, another avantgarde company. Already back in 2013, Texel had an automated warehouse which guaranteed immediate retrieval of any of its stored varieties, sorted by color and size, thanks to a dedicated IT solution.

Tour 4 | “Innovation is key. Varietal experimentation and apple gin distillation”

Visit Fuji Società Agricola in Laives, an innovative and experimental fruit-growing company which stands out for the vast range of varieties it grows. The tour then proceeds to the Roner distillery in Termeno for a tasting session and a distilling demonstration of Kiku Apple Gin, a London Dry Apple Gin made using Kiku apples employing artisanal methods.

Tour 5 | “Apples in the territory. From producer to cooperative”

Visit a local cooperative and farm. The Grufrut Group in Bronzolo is one of the VOG Consortium’s eleven cooperatives and was founded in 1968. Following various mergers of other local cooperatives, today it boasts around 600 members, totaling around 1,500 hectares of land between Bolzano and Salorno.

The tour then continues to Klaus Pfeifer’s integrated fruit-growing company in Laives. Over the last five years, Pfeifer’s sole focus has been working on multi-axis training systems. He grows Gala, Kanzi, Granny Smith, Giga, and Pink Lady varieties.

Tour 6 | “Micro and macro. Two family management models compared”

Visit the integrated fruit-growing company run by Michael Komiss in Bolzano which grows different apple varieties in line with integrated production protocols. The company also sells apple chips obtained from the orchards. The tour then proceeds to another family-run business near Vilpiano: The Egma fruit auction outfit and Fructus, a fruit processing company, both run by the same family. Between August and October, nearly 300 producers sell over 30,000 tons of fruit. The Fructus processing plants are located on the company grounds – Fructus is a household name in Europe due to its cooked and pasteurized apples and pears and frozen fruit.

Tour 7 | “Excellence is nothing without technique. Sprayers and irrigation”

Visit Lana’s sprayer overhaul center managed by the South Tyrolean Orchard Advisory Center to discover how nozzle flow rate is assessed and how the overhaul of sprayers is carried out. The tour then proceeds to Thomas Gruber’s integrated fruit farm in Postal, which is the perfect example of South Tyrolean apple growing tradition. Over the last few years, Thomas Gruber has been focusing on sustainability from different angles, ranging from water use to energy efficiency.

Tour 8-9 | “The underground warehouse of Melinda. A hidden home for apples”

Visit the Dolomite caves of Rio Maggiore Mine and explore the hollow space resulting from extracting the local dolomite rock, used now by Melinda to create the first and only underground cold storage system for fruit. This double tour will showcase the warehouse, which boasts a constant temperature throughout the entire year and the necessary conditions to guarantee an ideal, controlled atmosphere. A veritable natural fridge hidden deep inside the Dolomites – a sustainable solution ensuring apple quality.

Tour capacity is limited. Book and purchase tickets online at https://www.fierabolzano.it/en/interpoma/interpoma-tours.

You can still purchase the Early Bird rate for the Interpoma Congress for €62 until August 31 online.