They’e experimenting with growing half a thousand varieties of figs in Becsehely in Zala

By: STA Date: 2022. 09. 20. 08:40

About half a thousand varieties of figs are being experimented with in Becsehely, Zala county, where almost half a hundred varieties were judged by professionals and laymen on Tuesday; they looked for variants that could be commercialized or further processed.

For a long time it was considered an exotic fruit, but today figs are also grown in Hungary (Photo: Pixabay)

Márton Ákos Miklós, the head of a company that has been producing kiwifruit and figs for years on four hectares on the border of the settlement, said: they are currently growing 450 different varieties – which are already registered in the national gene bank – of which 45 types of fruit have been brought in for evaluation. The National Gene Bank Council and Nébih (National Food Chain Safety Office), representatives of the MATE Georgikon Campus, as well as gastronomy specialists and fig growers, tried to select those varieties that have the appropriate “shelf life” and can be grown as plantations, as well as fresh fruit, dried fruit, jam or they can also reach consumers in the form of brandy.

In Becsehely, they mainly monitor and evaluate the suitability of the existing varieties for the current climatic conditions

In the specific microclimate of Zala, purple, yellow, and even striped and gray-skinned figs are grown, among which are honeydew, cantaloupe, and redberry-like fruits. Some of these were already commercially available in Nagykanizsa last year. Luca Utassy, the owner of Fügeliget Kft., which produces on a five-hectare area in nearby Tormaföld, talked about the fact that figs can be harvested twice in Hungary, in early summer and in autumn. This summer’s weather was not favorable for the fig plantation, so this time they expect a harvest of 3-4 tons. Péter Cseresnyés, the Fidesz parliamentary representative of the region, believed that the countless abandoned vineyards offer a new opportunity for utilization, that several people in this region are engaged in kiwi and date plums. – and fig cultivation. This can provide a new business for those who want to make use of the values inherent in the Hungarian land in a changing world. Mayor Géza Németh (independent) indicated: previously, the name Becsehely was on the lips mainly in connection with its grape and wine culture and the first free brandy brewing, but in recent years, the kiwifruit and figs really brought fame to the settlement.

MTI