In Getahovit, a community near Ijevan in Armenia’s Tavush region, Parandzem Adamyan’s family has gradually turned a persimmon orchard into the foundation of a family business. October is one of the busiest times of the year, as the harvest begins and the workday often stretches from early morning until late at night.
Adamyan is a physicist and botanist by training. She studied at the Faculty of Natural Sciences of YSU’s Ijevan branch and later continued at YSU’s Faculty of Informatics and Applied Mathematics. She says her ambitions have always been tied to Tavush and to her home village.
Since 2008, the family has been looking for the right crop to make the orchard a source of income. They first tried growing black plums, but sales in the local market proved difficult. They then chose persimmons, took out a loan, expanded their livestock holdings and used that income to keep investing in the farm.
The early years were difficult, Adamyan says, as trees were drying out and the family was trying to understand why. She and her son attended training sessions led by specialists invited from England, and later tested different pruning methods in their own orchard. Over time, they concluded that autumn pruning worked better, helping raise the fruit weight from 100-120 grams to 300-350 grams.
The family’s work is not limited to persimmons. Until October, they produce dried black plums, and later process figs, peaches, hazelnuts and walnuts. For the past three years, they have also been making dried fruit in a workshop next to their home, although Adamyan notes that Tavush’s humid climate makes the process more challenging and dried persimmons take about 15 days to prepare.
