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Onnotto: Origin and uses
Onotto (Bixa orellana) consist in a shrub that can grow up to 6 mt high and belongs to Bixaceae family wich origin center is located in Central America and México. It produces seeds in small bladded shaped. These seeds are high in bixin, a very strong natural dye widely used in pharmaceutical and food industry.
Is Onnotto an efficient and furthermore, a profitable crop?
However and despite so many factors that must be evaluated in order to succeed in any agriculture enterpreneurship, below are numbered some technical and market features related to Onotto crop seen as advantages of the crop itself.
Technical and market advantages of Onnotto crop in Colombia
Unsupplied market: Onotto seeds imports reach up to 70%
Near to 70% of national consumption is imported directly from Peru that is the largest south american producer and one of the main world exporters.
Extremely robust and efficient crop in terms of nutrient uptake.
Onnotto shrub root system is very deep and due of this is very remarkable that this crop is notabily documented as species that:
- It is considered as a soil improver Even Onnotto is not a legume, the produced biomass deposition recicles nutrients from the bottom soil layers to the upper layers. Due this reason Onnotto can be established in relative bad soils compared to soil requirements to other crops.
- Onnotto is a crop far resilient to drought Because its very deep root system that can reach up to 3 meters deep, it can resist, after its establishment period, long periods with no irrigation or rain water at all.
In agronomical terms Onnotto has many advantages
Onnotto tree has no, in agronomical terms, a complex disease or pest so strong to be considered production limit factor since it is not affected by bacterias nor fungical diseases. In addition, custom made fertilization plans are far less expensive that other fertilization plans made for any fruit or orchard crop since they usually are high in NPK.
- Agronomical and fertilization requirements of Onnotto crop are basically cheaper compared to any other crop.
- Cattle does not affect Onnotto since its leaves are really bitter and thus, it is possible to plant it in pastures and paddocks.
- Leaf cutter ants (Atta cephalotes) is the most important pest for Onnotto.
High export trade potential
Even ther is an unsupplied demand in the colombian domestic market, there is a high potential for export Onotto seeds.
- The export process is simpler than any fresh fruit since there is no cold chain needed.
- The exportable commercial batch size is really smaller than any other fruits since its value by weight unit is higher.
Due its high efficiency, a very high resilience to drought and almost an absence of any complex pest that implicates expensive pest and disease control, the Onnotto crop present itself as a potential high profit opportunity for the colombian market since its establishment in terms of the internal consumption can be measured in several thounsands of hectares to be planted.
Contact us for further information about the establishment of Onnotto crop in Colombia.
