ASPETTI ECONOMICO-FINANZIARI DI IMPIANTI CASTANICOLI MODERNI

Italian chestnut production declined in recent years due to new diseases and frequent climatic adversities. An opportunity to raise production can derive from a new concept of chestnut tree management, set as a real orchard with a plant density of up to 200 plants per hectare with Euro-Japanese hybrids. This innovative management causes a sharp change in the traditional concept of chestnut farming, often part-time managed by producers, who just earn a complementary interesting income. On the contrary, the high density chestnut plant target is a professional fruit farmer. The chestnut orchard goes into competition with other fruit crops, both for the needs of good quality land and for job demands. A study carried out in Piedmont, based on data collected in hybrid Euro-Japanese plants shows, in the light of current producer prices, a very interesting economic and financial result, as long as they achieve and maintain the high production yields that these plants can offer. The effects of increasing the supply of Euro-Japanese hybrid fruits must be carefully evaluated, particularly for risks of market saturation, as these fruits have normally a specific supply chain, different from European chestnut. In addition, it’s to be considered the consequence of a competitive offer to traditional European chestnut, for which Italy has a consolidated tradition of high quality and intense territorial connections.