The Wealth of Autumn - the Quince Orchard in the Pohrebeni Village. PHOTO

On a picturesque location, in the outskirts of Pohrebeni Village, on an area of about 14 hectares, there arise a huge quince orchard. A large number of small sized trees are crammed with abundant fruits with yellow-green nuances that fill the ambiance with autumn flavor. The orchard, that has been here for six years belongs to the Farming Association "Cojocaru Semion".

MadeinMD team learned about the cultivation of quince in Moldova during a conversation with the young entrepreneur Vasile Cojocaru. The farmer told us that six years ago, using a state subvention, he decided to plant on 14 hectares area, two local varieties of quince - Azurie and Codreanca. Now, after five years, Vasile is proud to have a beautiful garden and a rich harvest, which this year could reach an amount of two hundred tons of juicy and fragrant quinces.

The quince orchard of Mr. Vasile is Eco certified, the fruits are of high quality, not particularly affected by the summer drought. Quinces are an unpretentious culture and even in the absence of required humidity, the trees provide a rich harvest. In order to protect the fruits, the farmer sprays the trees with Bordeaux mixture (a mix of copper sulphate and slaked lime), a substance that is acceptable for use in organic agriculture with minimal impact on the environment, unlike other insecticides and fungicides.

The harvest of quince is increasing year after year. Now, it is more productive than in previous years, the only difference is that some fruits are smaller in size, probably due to lack of humidity. Mr. Vasile prognoses that the next year’s harvest will reach its maximum, one hundred percents capacity.

Our visit coincided with the harvesting period, however Vasile Cojocaru was not particularly worried about their commercialization. The previous years experience shows that quinces always find eventual buyers. Within one or two weeks, the entire crop will be harvested and sold. Some fruits will be exported, as the farmer already has eventual buyers in Russia. Other will reach for the first time the Romanian market. Smaller quinces will be used in the production of vodka under the brand Nimorinka. Another part of the production will go to local manufacturers of canned fruit, companies like Orhei-Vit and other domestic producers Vasile Cojocaru cooperates with. The price per one kilo of quince is approximately 10 lei.

Besides the quince orchard, the young entrepreneur has several plots of land where he grows barley, wheat or corn. But quinces represent the main agricultural culture, on which Vasile Cojocaru relies the most. These outstanding fruit, with a lot of health benefits, can be a great source of income, as the example of Pohrebeni village orchards shows.