Publication of an application for registration of a name pursuant to Article 50(2)(a) of Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council on quality schemes for agricultural products and foodstuffs

(2019/C 403/08)

This publication confers the right to oppose the amendment application pursuant to Article 51 of Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council (1) within three months of the date of this publication.

SINGLE DOCUMENT

‘KIWI DE CORSE’

EU No: PGI-FR-02433 – 11.9.2018

PDO ( ) PGI (X)

1. Name(s)

‘Kiwi de Corse’

2. Member State or Third Country

France

3. Description of the agricultural product or foodstuff

3.1. Type of product

Class 1.6. Fruit, vegetables and cereals, fresh or processed

3.2. Description of product to which the name in (1) applies

The ‘Kiwi de Corse’ is a fruit of the Hayward variety.

Oval in shape, it has brown-green skin covered with many fine hairs. The flesh is bright green and contains small black seeds.

The ‘Kiwi de Corse’ is a sweet, slightly tart fruit with soft, juicy flesh.

The ‘Kiwi de Corse’ has a sugar content equal to or higher than 12 °Brix and a firmness equal to or higher than 1,5 kg/0,5 cm2.

Only fruits with a minimum weight of 70 g and in the category Extra or I may be sold under the PGI.

3.3. Feed (for products of animal origin only) and raw materials (for processed products only)

—

3.4. Specific steps in production that must take place in the defined geographical area

All steps in the production of ‘Kiwi de Corse’ (from cultivation to grading and sorting) take place in the defined geographical area.

3.5. Specific rules concerning slicing, grating, packaging, etc. of the product the registered name refers to

‘Kiwi de Corse’ is packaged in the geographical area in order to guarantee consumers a high-quality product without chemical treatment after harvesting.

‘Kiwi de Corse’ is a fresh fruit that is picked when ripe. It does not undergo any chemical conservation treatment after harvesting and therefore remains susceptible to knocks and bruising if it is transported in bulk in pallet boxes over long distances. Furthermore, transport in pallet boxes in a confined atmosphere, such as in the case of maritime transport followed by delivery by refrigerated lorry, prevents the free circulation of air around the fruit, leading to differing atmospheric conditions within the pallet that will result in the individual fruits developing differently.

Moreover, the packaging plants carry out other intrinsically related tasks (sorting, approval and labelling) which require the orchards to be close by; this processing rounds off the farmers’ work and avoids too much handling of the fruit in bulk.

In addition to preserving the product’s quality and characteristics, packing the fruit in the geographical area greatly facilitates the product’s traceability. When fruit is transported in bulk, it is possible that it may become mixed with cargoes of fruit of a different origin.

The identification system put in place at the time of packaging ensures the product’s traceability up to final sale and thus provides an extra guarantee of the product’s origin and quality.

‘Kiwi de Corse’ is packaged:

— in loose packs

— layered in trays

— in punnets (sales units)

3.6. Specific rules concerning labelling of the product the registered name refers to

Besides the compulsory references laid down in the rules on labelling and presentation of foodstuffs, the labelling features the product’s registered name and the European Union’s PGI symbol in the same visual field.

4. Concise definition of the geographical area

The geographical area of ‘Kiwi de Corse’ comprises the territory of the following municipalities in the department of Haute-Corse:

Aghione, Aléria, Antisanti, Biguglia, Borgo, Canale-di-Verde, Casevecchie, Castellare-di-Casinca, Cervione, Chiatra, Furiani, Ghisonaccia, Giuncaggio, Linguizzetta, Lucciana, Lugo-di-Nazza, Monte, Olmo, Pancheraccia, Penta-di-Casinca, Pietroso, Poggio-di-Nazza, Poggio-Mezzana, Prunelli-di-Fiumorbo, San-Giuliano, San-Nicolao, Santa-Lucia-di-Moriani, Santa-Maria-Poggio, Serra-di-Fiumorbo, Solaro, Sorbo-Ocagnano, Taglio-Isolaccio, Talasani, Tallone, Tox, Valle-di-Campoloro, Ventiseri, Venzolasca, Vescovato.

5. Link with the geographical area

The link with the geographical area is based on natural factors (relief, soil, climate) and human factors (local know-how) that are characteristic of the geographical area.

The geographical area of ‘Kiwi de Corse’ (western plain of Corsica) mainly comprises hills and plateaus ranging from 150 to 300 metres in altitude. To the west, it is dominated by steep foothills linked to the schist part of the island and by a ridge varying in height from 800 to 1 200 metres.

The vast majority of its soil has a fairly homogeneous structure, mainly sandy clay loam, and in terms of chemistry is generally acidic.

Because of the island’s location and mountainous terrain, the ‘Kiwi de Corse’ benefits from a particularly favourable, typically Mediterranean climate with mild winters and summers characterised by a period of quite severe drought. Owing to its latitude, Corsica has strong solar irradiation almost all year round, with around 2 700 hours of sunshine a year on average in the ‘Kiwi de Corse’ production area.

The maritime influence gives the geographical area very specific characteristics when compared with other national and European kiwi production areas.

Frost, which can cause significant damage to the plant or the fruit, occurs very rarely or not at all. Sufficiently low temperatures in winter ensure that the plants can become dormant and provide the cold necessary for budding.

Safe from the risk of destruction of their crop by autumn frosts, producers of ‘Kiwi de Corse’ allow their fruit to ripen at its natural pace.

The maritime influence on the island has a significant impact on two other major characteristics of the Mediterranean climate that affect ‘Kiwi de Corse’ – the high temperatures and the air humidity in summer.

Maximum summer temperatures rarely exceed 33 °C and are generally between 27 and 30 °C, and relative air humidity very rarely falls below 40 %.

The high, undulating terrain in Corsica is a major advantage when it comes to the availability of water. Annual rainfall is quite high. The sea breezes, typical of coastal areas, are accentuated by the natural convection resulting from the terrain. The main effect is that the influence of the sea breezes reaches further inland, creating a sufficiently strong wind – without being too strong – to provide favourable ventilation for the ‘Kiwi de Corse’ orchards and reduce the risk of disease.

There is a very long tradition of fruit tree cultivation in Corsica. The cultivation of kiwi fruit began in the early 1970s based on this longstanding expertise in arboriculture, as well as in viticulture, which shares various techniques with kiwi cultivation (summer pruning and trellising).

Additionally, the San-Giuliano INRA-CIRAD research centre took a very early interest in the cultivation of kiwi fruit. The first kiwi plants were brought to the centre in February 1969. They represented the four main varieties that were grown in New Zealand at the time: Monty, Abbott, Bruno and, of course, Hayward. The latter was quickly shown to be the most satisfactory, as in all other kiwi-producing countries, for its yield, the good size of its fruits (around 100 g on average), the uniform oval shape of its fruits and excellent keeping qualities that were far better than the other varieties. In particular, that variety is best adapted to the soil and climatic conditions in the geographical area, with its soils that tend to be acidic and its Mediterranean climate characterised by strong sunshine and maritime influences. Consequently, Hayward became the exclusive variety of ‘Kiwi de Corse’.

The island producers have developed know-how that enables them to cultivate kiwis in the specific conditions in Corsica and to cope with the changing climate.

Winters are becoming increasingly mild, whereas kiwis need a cold period in order to encourage flower induction and satisfactory budding. It has therefore been necessary to adapt cultivation practices in order to maintain viable and, above all, high-quality production.

Producers have extended the trellising of the trees in order to retain longer branches and therefore ensure a satisfactory yield per hectare.

In order to deal with the excess of vegetation caused by very hot springs and summers, green pruning is carried out in summer. The aim is to remove all the wood in order to provide maximum sunshine to the fruits and thereby to increase their sugar content.

Likewise, thinning is carried out to remove excess and deformed fruits in order to reduce the load and obtain high-quality kiwis of a good size.

Moreover, producers optimise the use of fertiliser, applying it in a controlled manner in response to poor yields (nitrogen inputs are lower than in other kiwi-growing regions, with a maximum level of 180 U/ha/year, divided across a minimum of three applications) and tailored control of irrigation.

Finally, the absence of frosts and the mild autumns mean that the fruits can be kept on the trees for longer. Manual harvesting is therefore also later than in other regions and the fruits develop a higher sugar content.

Corsican farmers have developed technical expertise which is indispensable for obtaining high-quality fruit from small, ‘modern’ orchards (average size 7 ha), with high planting density, low yields and mechanised farming techniques.

The ‘Kiwi de Corse’ is of the Hayward variety, which is best able to adapt to the soil conditions in the geographical area.

It is characterised by a sweet, slightly tart taste and soft, juicy flesh.

The ‘Kiwi de Corse’ has a sugar content equal to or higher than 12 °Brix and a firmness equal to or higher than 1,5 kg/0,5 cm2.

This high refractive index contributes to its excellent keeping qualities during the storage period prior to sale, by maintaining the firmness of the flesh.

The natural factors in the geographical area of ‘Kiwi de Corse’ are particularly conducive to the cultivation of a high-quality product as described above.

The soils are neither too high in clay nor in limestone, which is essential for kiwi cultivation, as, on the one hand, they are susceptible to root suffocation and do not tolerate very clay soils and, on the other hand, they are susceptible to lime-induced chlorosis if the level of active lime in the soil exceeds 5-7 %.

The steep, high terrain is another major advantage, as it contributes to the supply of water and has an influence on the sea breezes, providing favourable ventilation to the orchards and reducing the risk of disease. The terrain, combined with an insular climate influenced by the sea, caps summer temperatures and ensures relatively high rainfall and humidity, which are necessary to counterbalance the high evapotranspiration from the leaves of the kiwi plants. This connection also helps to maintain sufficiently low temperatures in winter (between 5 and 7 °C on average) to ensure the plants’ dormancy and provide the cold necessary for good budding, while substantially reducing the risk of autumn and spring frosts.

In addition, the high levels of sunshine in the geographical area encourage high levels of sugar in the fruit.

Among these natural factors, the one that is most important by far for the specific characteristics of the ‘Kiwi de Corse’ is the mild autumns caused by the influence of the sea, with no significant frosts before the end of November. This constitutes a significant advantage over other major production areas, because the producers can harvest their produce later, with a higher refractive index (7 °Brix). This longer natural ripening on the plant thereby guarantees good eating quality (soft and juicy flesh) with a well-developed flavour (sweet and slightly tart) and excellent keeping qualities for the storage period prior to sale. The ‘Kiwi de Corse’ undeniably has unique quality potential when compared with other national or European production areas.

The know-how of the Corsican kiwi producers is also based on over 40 years of experience from other crops, in particular vines.

The cultivation practices employed by the island producers (trellising, green pruning, thinning and controlled fertilisation) aim to make the most of the natural conditions to obtain high-quality ‘Kiwi de Corse’.

Reference to publication of the specification

(the second subparagraph of Article 6(1) of this Regulation)

https://extranet.inao.gouv.fr/fichier/CDC-KiwiCorse.pdf

(1) OJ L 343, 14.12.2012, p. 1.