Italian chestnuts are back with a harvest estimated to grow by 10% compared to last year even if lower than expected due to the summer drought. This is what emerges from the monitoring carried out by Coldiretti which estimates a national production of over 38 million kilograms of excellent quality for the fruit that symbolizes autumn.
Original content
An expected return after some areas even risked extinction due to the presence of the chestnut gall wasp (Dryocosmus kuriphilus) from China, which for years has infested the woods along the peninsula causing the formation of galls in the plants, i.e. swelling gems of various shapes and sizes. Against this threat - Coldiretti recalls - a widespread biological war has been launched with the spread of the insect Torymus sinensis, which is a natural antagonist. However, we still remain far away - Coldiretti points out - from the productive glories of the past for what Giovanni Pascoli called "the Italian bread tree", a symbol of autumn in the school books of many generations of young schoolchildren. Just remember that in 1911 the production of chestnuts amounted to 829 million kilos, but still ten years ago it was 55 million kilos. The situation - underlines Coldiretti - is actually differentiated along the Peninsula, with the production potential recovering, thanks to the ...
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