Regenerative Agriculture: fruit-growing in harmony with nature

Climate change and biodiversity loss pose major challenges for both agriculture and the juice industry. Regenerative agriculture is an important milestone in maintaining biodiversity. AUSTRIA JUICE is leading the way of sustainability with new, forward-looking projects such as "SustainAPPLE", a trial garden or intensive apple orchards. 

Agriculture is facing major ecological and economic challenges due to soil depletion, intensive use of chemicals, monocultures and water scarcity. Extreme weather events and pest infestations lead to yield losses, while overuse reduces fertility and makes plants more vulnerable. Many farmers are giving up because the economic perspective is dwindling, which in the long term also affects the availability of raw materials, such as the fruit for juice production.

Rethinking cultivation: what is regenerative agriculture?

In view of these challenges, it is inevitable that we will have to rethink agriculture. Healthy soils and sustainable farming methods are the cornerstones of long-term agricultural productivity and profitability. The focus is on the question: How can agriculture remain both sustainable and economically profitable in the long term? Regenerative agriculture offers a promising hybrid approach that combines the benefits of organic and conventional farming with a strong focus on soil health.

AUSTRIA JUICE has been committed to a sustainable corporate philosophy for 25 years. With principles such as "from the field to the press in one day", we are now moving forward with new projects.

Regenerative agriculture at AUSTRIA JUICE aims to maintain healthy soils in order to ensure long-term high-yield harvests. The build-up of humus is central because it increases soil fertility, binds CO₂, stores water efficiently and mitigates droughts. Targeted fertilization only supplies the soil with necessary nutrients without polluting the ecosystem. Biodiversity also plays an important role: inter-row greening in orchards improves nutrient uptake, supports beneficial insects and pollinators, and thus naturally reduces the need for pesticides. This creates more resistant trees.

SustainAPPLE: sustainable apple cultivation with resistant varieties

In 2000, AUSTRIA JUICE introduced the SustainAPPLE project in Hungary, which is committed to sustainable and environmentally friendly apple cultivation. In 2007, it was also expanded to Poland. Together with the Federal Research Institute for Cultivated Plants in Dresden-Pillnitz and the University of Budapest, special apple varieties have been developed that are resistant to certain pests and plant diseases. These resilient varieties require up to 60 percent less pesticides, which not only reduces environmental impact, but also reduces the use of chemical substances in agriculture.

Since 2017, all participating farmers have been FSA-certified (Farm Sustainability Assessment) and thus meet high sustainability standards. A particular advantage of the project is the innovative financing model: the farmers receive the trees free of charge at the beginning and pay back the investment costs over a period of 25 years in the form of apples. This long-term commitment has resulted in 3.5 million apple trees being planted in Hungary and Poland since the start of the project.

Experimental garden: An open-air laboratory for pioneering apple cultivation

In 2022, an experimental garden was set up on an area of 1.2 hectares at the AUSTRIA JUICE site in Vásárosnameny, Hungary. It serves as a show garden for regional farmers and as a workplace for innovative cultivation methods. The project focuses on regenerative agriculture and is intended to help meet the challenges of climate change and the shortage of labour in apple cultivation.

Five different resistant apple varieties (Relinda, Rewena, Resi, Pia Alma and Rea Gold) are grown in the experimental garden and various irrigation systems such as underground, drip and micro-sprinkler irrigation are tested. In addition to irrigation techniques, various machines, fertilizers, precision farming methods, frost control measures, pesticides and humus build-up approaches are also being tested to increase efficiency and sustainability.

The project is being scientifically monitored, and the data obtained provide valuable insights for the further development of sustainable apple cultivation methods. The aim is to show farmers practical solutions in the field of regenerative agriculture and to show alternative ways to replace manual work with machines.

Another step towards regenerative agriculture: intensive apple orchards

The next milestone in the development of sustainable cultivation methods is the Intensive Apple Orchards project, which has started at the end of 2024 and is scheduled to run for ten years.

 
The project is promising: six farmers each provide one hectare of land to grow resistant apple varieties on intensively farmed land. With a planting density of 2,500 trees per hectare – significantly more than the usual 1,000 trees – the aim is to achieve greater yield stability and at the same time reduce emission intensity (CO₂ footprint per tonne).

Between the rows of apples, native plant species are used as greenery. These are also intended to serve as food for bees and contribute to nitrogen fixation. A central component of the project is humus build-up as well as modern automation and mechanisation techniques for tasks such as cutting and harvesting. In addition, precision farming is used, which enables the targeted use of fertilizers and pesticides through soil samples.

The project is scientifically accompanied by a university in order to document the results and make the findings available in a white paper for farmers in the region. Not only the ecological but also the economic aspect is of great importance: The aim is to establish sustainable intensive agriculture that remains economically attractive for farmers and strengthens the resilience of their farms in the long term.

Conclusion:

With forward-looking projects such as SustainAPPLE, a new experimental garden for researching new cultivation methods or the intensive apple orchards, AUSTRIA JUICE is taking important steps towards regenerative agriculture. The use of resistant apple varieties, which require drastically fewer pesticides, as well as research into different cultivation methods and irrigation systems, promotes sustainable agriculture that reduces the CO₂ footprint and strengthens biodiversity. At the same time, the projects rely on automation and precision agriculture to ensure economic viability for farmers and address labor shortages. With the scientific support and the objective of passing on practical findings in the form of a white paper, the initiatives create not only ecological, but also social and economic added value. These projects stand for an agriculture of the future that combines climate resilience, yield security and economic attractiveness and thus offers a sustainable perspective for fruit growing.