“Gold of the Incas” conquering the Spanish agriculture
The subtropical climate of the Eastern Costa del Sol allows the cultivation of remote species so Spanish researchers have introduce for the first time in the continent varieties of lucuma, a Peruvian fruit known as the “the gold of the Incas”.
The Institute for Subtropical and Mediterranean Horticulture “La Mayora”, in Málaga, houses what is “possibly the only lucuma plantation in Europe”, according to its researcher Iñaki Hormaza, manager for this crop.
Hormaza says that this fruit is grown in Peru and very popular in its cuisine, but unknown outside the country, so “it is a crop of interest for regions such as the Andalusian Mediterranean with frost-free subtropical climate”.
“Lucuma could be interesting to diversify subtropical crops in the area”, Hormaza adds, highlighting this fruit for “its excellent nutritional properties, ideal for preparing ice cream, smoothies and other types of desserts”, and aimed at a “demanding market as the European, willing to try different things”.
Lucuma is a green-skinned fruit with mustard-yellow flesh, which is why it is popularly known as “the gold of the Incas”.
In the Málaga experimental station there are currently planted a fortnight of trees from three lucuma varieties which have served to demonstrate the viability of this crop, which could supply the European market in September.
Source: laopiniondemalaga.es