The Institute of Agri-Food Research and Technology (IRTA) has presented today at its Fruit Attraction 2025 stand the new almond variety DIVINA, the result of more than a decade of research. This is an almond that combines high nutritional value with key agronomic traits, such as extra-late flowering, self-fertility, and high productivity, designed to respond to the growing demand for healthy foods.
“With DIVINA we are taking another step in the transformation of almond cultivation, offering the sector a variety designed to meet the needs of producers and industry, but also the expectations of consumers,” highlighted Xavier Miarnau, almond specialist researcher from IRTA’s Fruit Growing program, during the presentation.
Coinciding with its 40th anniversary, IRTA recalls its key role in the transformation of almond cultivation. Since the 1970s, the institute has developed varieties such as Masbovera, Glorieta, Francolí, Vairo, Marinada, and Constantí, which drove the transition towards a more intensive and technologically advanced production model.
At the same time, IRTA has always supported the sector through knowledge transfer activities and benchmark field days.
Almond is one of the crops that has grown the most in Spain in recent decades, with more than 760,000 hectares and over 120,000 tons of kernels produced annually. In this context, DIVINA represents a new step in the modernization of the sector, as the result of more than a decade of research.
In addition to its late flowering and self-fertility, DIVINA stands out for its high content of fiber, fat, and oleic acid, contributing to a better nutritional profile. It also offers excellent industrial performance, ensuring good processing suitability.
“DIVINA is not just another variety in our portfolio: it represents our commitment to an almond that meets the trends of healthy and sustainable consumption,” emphasized Miarnau.
DIVINA is presented alongside the INTENSIA rootstock, also developed by IRTA and now commercially available. It is a hybrid of almond x peach adapted to calcareous and marginal soils, ideal for intensive and super-intensive systems. It reduces tree vigor by up to 50% and promotes intensification and mechanization of cultivation.
Together with the new variety, IRTA is presenting other advances that reinforce its commitment to a more sustainable and competitive almond cultivation:
With the new DIVINA variety, the INTENSIA rootstock, and technologies such as GreenTray® and IRRIDESK®, IRTA reaffirms its commitment to innovation and knowledge transfer to ensure a more efficient, sustainable, and competitive almond production model.
