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Tommaso Concari (Op Bristol) on melon and watermelon cultivations in central-northern Italy

"We will lose earliness of the crop compared to 2020, but frost damage is limited"

"With regard to the cold weather recorded from 6 to 8 April and from 12 to 14 April 2021, with temperatures well below zero, as a producer's organization with members divided into 5 regions - Tuscany, Emilia-Romagna, Veneto, Lombardy and Abruzzo - we can  report that these weather events have affected all our production areas dedicated to melon and watermelon.

"We recorded slight damages to plants in greenhouses, while in open field, according to the company's plans, we had not yet started transplanting," said Tommaso Concari, technical manager for the control of open field cultivations and quality systems management of the producer’s organization Op Bristol, specialized in the production and marketing of high-quality melons and watermelons. "We may describe ourselves as the melon artisans. We specialize in the smooth melon, Honey Moon variety." 

(Photos provided by Tommaso Concari - Op Bristol)

"The damages in the greenhouse are not related to production losses. The main problem, in the earliest growing areas of Tuscany, was due to fruit set already having occurred and therefore the plants had stopped their vegetative progress. Before the frost, we had noticed a discreet precociousness compared to last year, due to the warmth of February/March. Afterwards, however, we noticed a marked slowdown in the development of the fruits due to the decreasing temperatures, the rain and the lack of light," continued Concari. "However, the situation will be clearer in about ten days, at the beginning of May, and this will give us a better understanding of the beginning of the season. Certainly, there will be a greater scalability."

(Photo provided by Tommaso Concari - Op Bristol)

In northern Italy, especially for watermelons but also for melons, a poor flowering was noticed. "There was a great decrease, if not absence, of female flowers, and this led to the impossibility of an early fruit set. Currently, the situation is recovering. The plants are ready again, the bees are pollinating. Since mid-April, the first transplants in open fields have started. We now hope that the weather will remain favorable," pointed out the technical manager.

(Photo provided by Tommaso Concari - Op Bristol)

Concari emphasized that the warmer soil in the greenhouse helped, although temperatures have dropped by a lot there as well. "Thanks to the wireless sensors being tested with the University of Florence, we saw a sudden drop in temperature in the deeper layers of the soil in a protected environment. This indicates that the cold was felt strongly in the greenhouse as well."

Click here for an enlargement of the image. (Photo provided by Tommaso Concari - Op Bristol)

Finally, Op Bristol's technical manager highlights an economic aspect tied to the frosts. "The wintry weather has not only created growing worries, but it has had a backlash in terms of increased costs for the management of plants and the employ of manpower. When April approaches, in fact, greenhouses are usually opened to favor air exchange and decrease their humidity in order to stimulate plant flowering. With the temperature range of the last period, however, there has been a constant opening and closing of the greenhouses between day and night, as well as covering and uncovering of the greenhouses and a more prudent use of irrigation. This season, therefore, already had higher costs, to be added to the upcoming ones".

(Photo provided by Tommaso Concari - Op Bristol)

Contact:
Tommaso Concari - resp.le tecnico agronomico e gestione qualità 
+39 347 6859497
[email protected]
Luca Bozzolini - commerciale
+39 331 9266599
[email protected]
O.P. Bristol Soc. Agr. Cons. a r.l.
Via San Protaso, 23
29017 Fiorenzuola d'Arda - Piacenza (PC)
+39 0523 983624
[email protected]
bristolgroup.it
Facebook: OPBristol
Instagram: op_bristol
LinkedIn: bristol-soc--cons--a-r-l-

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