Innovation

OUR PRACTICES

Quinta de Vilar has always been guided by the constant implementation of cutting-edge techniques and procedures.

In a publication in the magazine 'Vida Rural' from 1990, concerning a meeting of about 400 fruit growers that took place in Quinta de Vilar, it is stated that "In a farm that is already considered a reference, due to the technical progress that its owner (Eng. Cabral de Menezes) has given to the cultures that are cultivated there, " fruit growers were shown new methods and technologies for setting up and managing orchards, namely the automation of fertilization with irrigation, as well as the plantation of a larger number of trees per hectare" informed Cardoso Domingos, Director of the Rural Extension Services of DRABL".

The apple orchards have been subject to several interventions and renovations, always with the purpose of enhancing the quality of the apples produced, particularly the installation of drip irrigation and the construction of a dam with a capacity of 125,000 m3, minimising the risk of water shortage for irrigation in critical periods, such as before the summer harvest

Também as infraestruturas de conservação e comercialização foram acompanhando as mais avançadas tecnologias. Já na década de 70 a Quinta de Vilar dispunha de Câmaras de frio de Atmosfera Normal com capacidade para 450 toneladas. Nos anos 90 procedeu à instalação de Câmaras de frio de Atmosfera Normal, obtendo uma capacidade de 1.000 ton. Em 2014 duplicou a capacidade de conservação com a instalação de Câmaras de Atmosfera Controlada e construção de um novo armazém.

Later, it acquired a water sorting machine with 16 lanes, allowing sorting by quality of the skin, colour intensity, weight, and size, essential for marketing, given the high demand of current markets. In addition to this investment, we have installed a new line for packing apples in bags and an automated tray-packing system: Fast Packing.

We recently expanded our facilities, increasing storage capacity to 7,500 tons and installed the 3rd packing line, pallet box cleaning equipment and a box-forming machine.