The first organised pistachio orchard in Aegina was established by Nikolao Peroglou in the area of Ag. Eirinas / Limbones, near the sea, in 1896. Peroglou had bought an area of around 20 stremmata (One stremma =1,000 square metres). The largest part of this estate was planted with various nut trees, among which were pistachios. The poor soil and the location near the sea meant that most of the trees didn’t flourish, with one notable exception: the pistachio trees. From then on he substituted all the other trees with pistachio trees.
The pistachio tree matures very slowly. When the trees had reached 12- 15 years of age, Peroglou saw that the pistachio was a tree with few needs and that the nuts sold for a good price. The dried pistachio nuts sold for 3 – 4 drachmas an oka, at a time when bread cost 75 lepta (there were 100 lepta in a drachma) an oka. Moreover, he realised that the climate and soil in Aegina were suitable for the tree’s development .
So he decided to dedicate himself to the cultivation of pistachio trees. In 1916 he published a small book entitled “The Pistachio Tree” which describes everything that the cultivation of the pistachio tree needs. It prompted the Aeginitans to plant pistachio trees, he shared cuttings from his best trees and when he wanted to give a present, he would give a pistachio tree sapling. There are still two such pistachio tree presents flourishing in Aegina.
