There was also Italy at the first World Forum for the development of the lemon industry, which took place on 17 September in the Chinese city of Ziyang, in the Sichuan region. And it could not be otherwise, given that our country is a cradle of citrus cultivation, which develops excellent products known all over the world.

The Wlidc was organized by the County of Anyue, known in China as the “City of Lemons”, as with its 35,000 hectares of lemon production it covers 80% of China’s needs. The Italian delegation invited to participate was composed of the mayor of the Municipality of Bagheria, Filippo Tripoli, the representative of Crea Santo Agnello, the president of the consortium Apo Sicilia Antonio Fricano, the representative of Slow Food Adalberto Catanzaro and the president of the association La Piana D ‘Oro Michele Balistreri. Furthermore, Alessandra Gentile, from the University of Catania, gave a speech focused on Sicilian lemon growing.

During the forum the president of the China Citrus Society, Deng Zi Niu, presented the Chinese Lemon Blue Book to take stock of the Chinese situation in the lemon field. The theme of sustainability is becoming more and more space also in citrus cultivation, so on the occasion of the Wlidc the representatives of China, Turkey, South Africa, Spain, the United States and Italy have signed the “Green declaration on the development of the global lemon industry”.

The Forum was also an opportunity to learn more about the Chinese lemon supply chain. The Italian delegation visited the Baosen lemon exhibition center and its exhibition area where almost all the varieties of lemon in the world are present.

“Very interesting was the guided tour at the Sichuan Huatong Lemon Co. ltd processing center, a center for processing fresh produce and derivatives – Antonio Fricano explains to Italiafruit News – The field visit was surprising, where it was found that all fruits are individually bagged after setting to preserve them from insect attacks and bad weather.The plants are monovarietal, a clone of Eureka, and have a medium low bushy habit.

“The lemon groves are distant from the sea, no less than 500 kilometers – Fricano continues – while in Italy we are used to having coastal lemons. The soils are heavy, clayey and water-rich: in the lemon groves there are real canals The bagging technique has surprised us: the fruit is inserted in an oily paper bag with a plastic film inside and on the upper edge a metal tongue to close in. It is applied in June, when the lemon is about 15-20 grams, and it is removed just before the harvest.It is a very expensive type of cultivation if we consider the human resources employed: there is no mechanization, the plants are very low, with grafts less than a meter from the ground and all the cultivation operations are carried out by hand. Today in China, lemons are an expensive product, there is no packaging in nets but they are sold loose ”

At the end of the visit a protocol of intent was signed between the Municipalities of Anyue and Bagheria for a twinning, since both institutions have found a cultural identity similar to what the lemon has represented – and represents – in the economy local. A yellow thread that links Italy and China and from which future partnerships can be born.