Last Week at Tecnoagro Iberia 2025 in Ciudad Real, Castilla-La Mancha

We joined Tecnoagro Iberia 2025 in Ciudad Real to discuss the key agronomic opportunities and challenges of pistachio farming in Castilla-La Mancha.

It was a pleasure to share our vision and experience with such a dynamic and forward-looking sector - one that is fast becoming a benchmark of economic and technological progress within the Iberian agricultural landscape.

During our intervention, we shared practical insights based on our hands-on experience with pistachio cultivation, focusing on the specific realities of Castilla-La Mancha. We began by reflecting on our early agronomic work at CSIC under the guidance of Professor Elías Fereres, whose background in California deeply shaped our initial perspective - particularly around irrigation - drawing also from the expertise of David Goldhamer, a leading pistachio irrigation specialist from UC Davis.

However, the arid climate, poor soils, and limited water availability of La Mancha have led us to significantly rethink that model. Over time, we’ve shifted toward a more regionally adapted strategy - one inspired, in part, by Turkish and Iranian systems. This means working with lower inputs, while maintaining a highly precise, data-driven, and agronomically sound approach tailored to local constraints. In terms of irrigation, we are now leaning more on updated references from California, such as the work of Daniele Zaccaria from UC Davis, whose approach aligns better with the current challenges of our environment.

We’ve adopted advanced technologies like Wiseconn for irrigation and fertigation monitoring (i.e., https://sistagro.eu/telemetry-products), and we’re actively testing practices such as mechanized pruning and even no-pruning, always guided by field data and agronomic logic.

A key message we shared was the importance of aligning agronomic potential with financial and operational reality. In our experience, pistachios in the central region of La Mancha reach positive cash flow later than expected, typically breaking even (i.e., when cumulative cash-flow turn positive) around year 15 in the regions where we work, and only becoming truly competitive from an investment perspective after even longer.

That said, the opportunity is very real - from an ecophysiological standpoint, pistachio is an excellent fit for the region. But agronomy must be at the heart of any investment model, and expectations need to be rooted in the real, long-term dynamics of the crop. We also highlighted key structural challenges: legal uncertainty around water rights, rising land prices, and labor shortages. These factors make operational discipline and a long-term vision absolutely essential - both of which are core values at SISTAGRO.

We concluded by stressing the importance of mastering the basics, building capable and motivated teams, and maintaining a grounded, realistic approach. The future of pistachio farming in Castilla-La Mancha won’t be driven by radical innovation alone, but by solid agronomy and a deep, practical understanding of the land.

It was a pleasure to participate in this event. If you’d like to know more about our work with pistachio cultivation, don’t hesitate to reach out - we’d be happy to connect.

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Participamos en Tecnoagro Iberia 2025 en Ciudad Real para compartir nuestra experiencia sobre los principales retos y oportunidades agronómicas del cultivo del pistacho en Castilla-La Mancha. Hemos abordado las condiciones reales de la zona de la meseta central donde hemos trabajado en La Mancha: un clima árido, suelos pobres y escasez de agua. Condiciones fantásticas desde un punto de vista ecofisiológico y sanitario, pero que presentan bajos techos productivos, lo que nos ha obligado a adaptar los modelos productivos con rigor.

Hemos hablado de la importancia de ajustar las expectativas económicas: el pistacho en La Mancha genera un flujo de caja positivo muy tarde y solo se vuelve competitivo frente a otras alternativas agrícolas después de un tiempo largo. El cultivo avanza despacio, por lo que es esencial alinear muy bien la agronomía y la inversión con los tiempos que marca la planta en esas condiciones.

También hemos destacado los principales desafíos estructurales: incertidumbre legal sobre el agua, encarecimiento del suelo y falta de mano de obra. Estos factores nos exigen una gestión operativa disciplinada y una visión a largo plazo, valores que ya forman parte del ADN de SISTAGRO.

Hemos cerrado nuestra intervención defendiendo una agronomía bien ejecutada, basada en el conocimiento del terreno y la excelencia operativa, como claves para el futuro del pistacho en la región.