004-2012-09-NOA_Izet_Kastrati_gherkin.success_story.docx

Izet Kastrati, of Rausiq/Rausic, Kosovo, shows off his half hectare of trellised cucumbers. Gherkin yields for the 2012 season may exceed 40 tons per hectare—a whopping two times what is possible using traditional growing techniques.

Photo: Bruce Williams

Kosovo’s pickle processors forecast an end to their reliance on imported gherkins.

INNOVATIVE PRACTICES PROFIT KOSOVO GHERKIN FARMERS

U.S. Agency for International Development www.usaid.gov Huge yields of tiny gherkins should spell even larger profits this year for Kosovo farmers such as Izet Kastrati, thanks to advanced cultivation techniques being introduced across the country by USAID.

Kastrati is one of 23 Kosovo farmers taking part in a countrywide project to improve gherkin yields led by USAID’s New Opportunities for Agriculture (NOA) program.

Gherkins are big business in Kosovo, where the young cucumbers, once pickled, are a popular delicacy. Currently, Kosovo’s gherkin harvest fails to satisfy the demands of its domestic pickle processors, leading them to import raw product from Macedonia and India.

Recognizing the potential for import substitution, NOA is sharing new trellis technology and other innovative practices with Kosovo’s gherkin producers. Already, the practices are yielding gherkin harvests averaging 40 tons per hectare, or four times the 10 tons per hectare possible using traditional methods. Kastrati’s success by far surpasses the average yield, harvesting up to 160 tons per hectare from 45 harvest cycles. As a result, Kosovo’s pickle processors forecast an end to their reliance on imported gherkins.

The innovations combine simple existing technologies: high-quality seed, drip irrigation with fertilizer injection, plastic mulch and two-meter (6.5-foot) tall mesh plastic trellis. This system promotes high-yield and high-performance growth. For example, black plastic mulch retains existing soil moisture and heat, and decreases weed and disease incidence. The trellis system meanwhile effectively doubles the surface area for plant foliage, increasing harvest efficiency and reducing plant damage during harvest. Indeed, trellises allow fields to be harvested 40 to 50 times a season. Plants grown traditionally are severely damaged in harvest, resulting in 10 or fewer harvests.

Trellis production also yields higher-quality gherkins, which command a 20% to 30% price premium—a welcome bonus for farmers.

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