According to the specialists of the Association of Producers and Exporters of Grapes of Moldova, “the state of the plantations of table grapes at the end of winter is encouraging.” Vines are well grown, and the wood mass is high. In contrast to the beginning of spring 2022, the phytosanitary situation is better – the disease outbreaks are estimated to be much smaller.
Concerns are caused by small reserves of moisture available to plants in the soil layer below 50-60 cm in the central and northern regions of the country. In the south of Moldova, the situation is better, as there was more rain and even snow last winter. Thanks to this, at least the first-meter layer of soil was replenished with moisture, according to EastFruit experts. In some areas, due to the waterlogged soil surface in the vineyards, pruning has been suspended.
According to experts from regional vineyard associations, moisture reserves in the deep soil layers this year are bigger than, for example, in the spring of 2021, after the catastrophic drought of 2020. The average rainfall in the spring and early summer will be enough for a good harvest even given severe moisture deficit in the second-meter soil layer or if the second half of the summer is dry, as has often happened in the past few years.
For more information: east-fruit.com