Environmental and plant protection

Locating a fruit production company in a national park comes with consequences. Extra care must be taken with environmental issues, we do this in consultation with the park ranger. Soil and water needs to be checked regularly for the presence of impurities. However, because of the absence of industry in the area, the air is pure and clean. The Almakúti site lies to the north-west of Lake Balaton at an altitude of 150 – 205 metres and spans an area of 1 x 3.6 km.

European legislation
After the reversal in 1989, Hungary chose the European legislative model for its own legislation. The sale and use of hormone preparations and substances that leave trace elements in or on the product or in the environment are strictly prohibited. Most modern plant protection products are available in Hungary. The use of such remedies is strictly controlled, and employees who work with them must first be specially trained. Companies must also keep close records of the purchase and use of such products.

Limiedt to a minimum
The Executive Board and owner of Almakúti have the fundamental view that the use of plant protection products and synthetic fertilizers should be limited, as far as possible, to a minimum. This is possible through carefully measuring the dosage, by using high quality spraying equipment and by not spraying too excessively. The favourable climate also plays an important role in this regard. Part of the fertilizer that is used consists of organic fertilizer. At the moment, tests are being conducted using resistant varieties, which will enable Almakúti to reduce the use of plant protection products even further. The success of using such resistant species will partially depend on the consumer – cultivators grow what the consumers demand. All the products of Almakúti are analysed on pesticide by the acknowledged Dutch laboratory TNO-Blgg AgriQ BV in Wageningen. Regular customers can always ask for the results of these analyses.

Only Hungarian supplier of Univer
Our goal is to cultivate pesticide free. We are the only company in Hungary from which Univer buys apples. Univer wants to be sure that the apples which are supplied are pesticide free for processing in baby food. Concerning apples for long-term preservation, we have made considerable progress. In the current situation, where most cultivators are struggling to  reach the European standard at all, we are on maximum 5% of the allowed standard. We’re not there yet though, our goal is 0%. In new species and varieties we are searching for true resistant apple varieties where we can limit the pesticide to a minimum.