Due to the current cold front, there is a risk of crop failures among apricot growers. Wind machines and ovens must prevent the worst from happening on the plantations.
One thing is certain after the first frosty nights this spring: “There will be no more record harvests”, Manfred Kohlfürst, president of the fruit and vegetable trade association, summarizes the sad realization of the local apricot growers. A spokesman for the hail insurance company has already confirmed the first damage to the apricot harvest in the Wachau and Weinviertel.
Farmers react to frost
With affected farmers leaving no stone unturned to avert the worst losses. In recent days, old metal barrels have been placed in orchards on the banks of the Danube to serve as ovens. They were lit on Wednesday evening. Whether it will succeed remains to be seen. “I’m in good spirits that we can save the blossoms and fruits,” said Franz Reisinger, president of the association Wachauer Marille, at least optimistically in the ORF interview on Wednesday.
wind machines in action
In the Weinviertel, the second largest apricot growing area in Lower Austria, wind machines were turned on during the frosty night hours to blow warmer air from higher layers to the blossoms. Here too, the success cannot yet be judged. However, crop failures are already predicted in the region. And the weather forecast does not bode well: frosty nights down to minus nine degrees.
Source: Krone
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