We started in 2012 in Neos Mylotopos, Pella, seven kilometres outside Giannitsa. Since then we have done one thing and done it consistently: we stand beside the fruit grower, in the orchard. We do not simply sell inputs. We follow the orchard from planting to harvest and keep a record for each holding separately.
Who we are
Pastopoulos Agronomics is a farm supply store and a technical advisory practice. It is run by Savvas Pastopoulos, Agronomist, a graduate of the Department of Agriculture, Crop Production and Rural Environment of the University of Thessaly, with a master's specialisation in the Pomology laboratory and further specialisation in postharvest technology of horticultural crops at the University of Florida.
Before opening our own practice we worked in fruit quality control, in plant protection and integrated management within a cooperative organisation, and as supervising agronomists in cooperatives of the region. That path shapes the way we work today: we know what the packinghouse asks for, not only what the tree wants.
What we do
Technical support of the orchard
- Regular visits to the holding at every stage of the crop, not only when a problem appears.
- A record for each holding. We keep what was done, when, and with what result. Without a record there is no improvement, only repetition.
- Insect trapping and population monitoring, so that a spray goes on when it is needed.
- Diagnosis of diseases and nutrient deficiencies, with a sample sent to a laboratory when the visual picture is not enough.
- Fertilisation programmes based on soil and leaf analysis.
Design of a new planting
- Choice of cultivar and rootstock for the particular field, not for the nursery catalogue.
- Assessment of soil suitability: texture, drainage, pH, calcium.
- Training system, planting distances, pollinators.
- Costing of the establishment before the first tree goes in.
Farm inputs
- Plant protection products, prescribed and in accordance with the approvals of the Greek Ministry of Rural Development and Food.
- Fertilisers — soil applied, water soluble and foliar.
- Seed and nursery trees from certified sources.
How we work
- Visit and recordWe look at the field, the cultivar, the rootstock, the age, the irrigation and its history. We ask what happened in previous seasons.
- Diagnosis from evidenceWhere needed, soil or leaf analysis, or a sample sent for laboratory identification. We do not guess.
- ProgrammePlant protection and nutrition adapted to the particular crop and the particular season — not a ready-made recipe.
- Follow-upWe come back. We check whether it worked, and correct where it did not.
- RecordWhatever was done is written down and kept. Next season we start from where we stopped.
The crops we follow
Press any crop to see our articles on it. Except for persimmon, these lists are still in Greek — translation is under way.
We do not write only for the blog
Technical writing is part of our work, not advertising. We have published more than twenty articles in the journal "Georgia – Ktinotrofia" from 2012 to date, as well as papers in international scientific journals and at national conferences. A selection:
| Subject | Where |
|---|---|
| The nitrogen cycle in cherry | Farmacon, 2018 |
| The physiology of calcium in cherry and its relation to quality parameters | Georgia – Ktinotrofia, 2020 |
| The diseases responsible for the greatest losses of apricot trees | Georgia – Ktinotrofia, 2021 |
| Postharvest technology and physiology of peach fruit | Georgia – Ktinotrofia, 2021 |
| Nematodes, a serious problem in fruit growing | Georgia – Ktinotrofia, 2024 |
| Ísca of kiwifruit | Georgia – Ktinotrofia, 2024 |
| The physiology of kiwifruit and the criteria for harvest | Georgia – Ktinotrofia, 2025 |
| Leonardite, its use in agriculture | Georgia – Ktinotrofia, 2025 |
| Kaolin sprays and individual fruit bagging effects on quince fruit quality | Acta Horticulturae 940, 2012 |
The full list is in the curriculum vitae.
- Apricot cultivars — evaluation (in Greek)
- Cherry cultivars — empirical evaluation (in Greek)
Tools we built for the grower
On the site you will find, free and without registration:
- A fertiliser and manure calculator — how many kilos for the nutrient rate you want, a review of the season, and how much manure is really needed to raise organic matter.
- The agricultural warnings of the Greek Ministry for Thessaloniki, collected in one place.
- The weather and current conditions from the Giannitsa meteorological station.
What to plant and when. Which cultivars will hold up in your particular field. What the establishment will cost. Why the tree does not set, why the fruit cracks, why the arm dies back.
Vas. Konstantinou & Katsarea, Neos Mylotopos, Pella, Greece
Telephone: +30 2382 051504
Email: spagric@yahoo.gr
The content of this site is general technical information and not individual agronomic advice. An on-site assessment is recommended before any intervention. Plant protection product approvals cited on this site are issued by the Greek Ministry of Rural Development and Food and are valid in Greece only.