During the last year, 7.800 new hectares have been planted in the region, which has meant an increase of more than 20 percent, two points above the national average, which stands at 18 percent compared to 2019.
In terms of production, it is expected that this season around 2.800 tons of pistachios will be collected in the region, compared to the 4.000 tons estimated at the national level.
Castilla-La Mancha already represents 81 percent of the pistachio cultivated area in all of Spain, positioning itself as the leader in continuous growth of a profitable crop and with increasing acceptance by farmers.
The Castilian-Manchegan region is the region of Spain that concentrates the largest cultivated area, with almost 38.000 hectares, of the 46.000 national hectares. A figure that year after year increases, as the statistics reflect, having gone from 6.000 hectares in 2015 to almost 38.000 today. The provinces of Ciudad Real and Toledo stand out in cultivation, with about 12.300 and 10.700 hectares, respectively.
According to data from the 'El Chaparrillo' Agro-Environmental Research Center, one of the centers dependent on the Regional Institute for Agri-Food and Forestry Research and Development of Castilla-La Mancha, managed by the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Rural Development, in 2020 there have been 7.800 hectares planted in the region, which has meant an increase of more than 20%, two points higher than the average increase in national planting, which stands at 18 percent growth compared to 2019.
If Castilla-La Mancha is the region of Europe with the largest area, it is also the region with the highest production. Without official data yet for this campaign, it is estimated that around 2.800 tons will be collected in our region, compared to a forecast of 4.000 tons at the national level.
Of relevance about this crop is that 80% of the plantations in the region are developed in dry land and around 35% remain organic. The average yield (nuts at 6% humidity and in the shell) in dry conditions, from the eighth year is 1.000 kg/ha/year. In irrigated land, from the sixth to the tenth year, with a water contribution of 1.500 m3/ha/year, the average yield is about 1.500 kg/ha, and from the tenth to the twentieth year, with 3.000 m3/ha /year, is 2.000-2.500 kg/ha.
