A few days after the frost that struck the stone fruit cultivation zones of northern Greece, growers continued to observe new losses in their crops, further lowering their expectations for the season's tonnage.
© Agricultural Cooperative of Fruit Growers of Pella
"New losses are becoming evident a few days after the frost has passed. It seems that 80% of the production of cherries, table peaches, nectarines, and plums has been lost. Experienced growers say that such a disaster from frost has not occurred since 2003-2004. Over the past few days, discussions have been taking place between growers and traders about how to manage the supply of the remaining product. There is great concern," comments Mrs. Polykarpou, President of the Agricultural Cooperative of Fruit Producers of Pella.
Pella produces the vast majority of Greece's cherries. However, the frost showed no mercy to the blossoming trees. "Out of every ten flowers I inspect on early and mid-early cherry varieties, the inner stem is black in nine, meaning they will not bear fruit. From what I hear from other producers, though, there are also losses in the later varieties, which had not even bloomed at the time of the frost. This is not surprising, considering that temperatures in some areas of Pella dropped as low as -6.5 degrees Celsius, with the frost lasting for three days and for at least three crucial morning hours," says Mrs. Polykarpou.
© Agricultural Cooperative of Fruit Growers of Pella
According to Mrs. Polykarpou, it is clear that many trading days will be lost. "It sounds grim, but this is the conclusion: There will likely be no harvest of early cherries this year. Last year, the harvest began on May 7-8, but this year, around twenty commercial days are lost, with the start of the harvest, if it happens at all, being pushed back to the end of May."
Peaches are the second most cultivated stone fruit in Pella. The president of the local cooperative describes the situation for this fruit as equally bad: "The frost destroyed both the blossoms and the young fruits that had just started forming and were the size of a lentil. Even some of the fruits that appear intact today may remain underdeveloped and be shed by the tree. In many early peach orchards, there will certainly be no harvest."
© Agricultural Cooperative of Fruit Growers of Pella
But the bad luck does not end there: "Today, Monday, it has started drizzling, and the weather forecast predicts rain throughout the week. This will create humidity that will harm whatever has survived the frost but remains vulnerable," concludes Ms. Polykarpou.
For more information:
Anastasia Polykarpou
Agricultural Cooperative of Fruit Growers of Pella
Tel: +30 698 324 7227