Project QUALI-POMORO: Testing Sustainable Tomato Farming

The Real Sito di Carditello in San Tammaro (Caserta) has launched a new experimental project called QUALI-POMORO. The name stands for “Improvement of the QUALI-quantitative aspects of POMOdoro (tomato) production in ROtation”. The goal is to move away from chemical fertilizers and validate sustainable growing protocols directly on the site’s farmland.

This shift is becoming a necessity for European farmers. As the European Union continues to tighten regulations, fewer and fewer chemical treatments and synthetic fertilizers are being allowed on the market. This creates an urgent need for projects like QUALI-POMORO to find effective, natural alternatives that maintain crop yields while following new environmental standards.

The project focuses on using organic materials instead of synthetic chemicals to improve both the amount and the quality of tomatoes produced. By using these organic “matrices,” the team aims to reduce environmental impact while saving on costs and improving soil health.

The two main organic materials being tested are:

• Digestate: Produced from the fermentation of organic waste.
• Vermicompost: Created by earthworms breaking down organic matter.

This initiative is a collaboration between the Real Sito di Carditello Foundation and the Department of Agriculture at the University of Naples Federico II.

The project also involves five major Producer Organizations (POs) from the region: AOA, APOC, APOPA, Ortofrutta SOLSUD, and Terra Orti. Scientific lead Mauro Mori explained that the project brings together the University’s research, the Foundation’s land, and the local producers who run the regional agricultural economy.

The Carditello site was originally built by the Bourbon dynasty as a model farm. It was a center for breeding royal horses and a dairy factory known as the Reale Industria della Pagliara delle Bufale, where the first Bourbon buffalo mozzarella was made.

Foundation President Maurizio Maddaloni noted that this project brings Carditello back to its original function as an experimental farm. Hon. Marco Cerreto added that the site was actually the first multifunctional farm in Europe.

The project has national support. Patrizio Giacomo La Pietra, Undersecretary at the Ministry of Agriculture, said: “This project demonstrates how targeted research can truly support farmers, compared to purely theoretical studies that often fail to produce concrete results in the field”. He emphasized that the goal is to reduce chemical use to ensure farmers can earn a better income without losing product quality.

Sources: Fondazione Carditello, persemprenews, Repubblica