The arrival of the first warm days in the beginning of August sparked activity in the region's fruit mount as some plum tree varieties bloomed, a spectacle that can be appreciated by people travelling the rural roads in the area. According to estimates this species will fully bloom before the end of the month, thus starting the new fruit season.
As every year, producers of stonefruit are concerned that there could be a frost while their fruit plants are undergoing their flowering stage, when they are really fragile.
"The plum trees are already showing the white tips of their flowers and it be very problematic if there were any frost, even if it had a low intensity," said a producer who has his farm in the area of Mainque.
The anticipated development of the bloom was due to a couple of conditions such as the moisture brought by recent rains and a string of days with temperatures near to or higher than 20 degrees during the hottest hours, as in the second week of August.
A recent report of the Department of Climatology of INTA Alto Valle states that there will be warm periods in the August that will irreversibly induce the buds to grow and develop. Once the plants achieve the chill hours they need, they start to add heat units (degree per day), something that's already happening.
According to the INTA, in contrast to the previous season, when the high temperatures of late July and first week August blocked the accumulation of cold hours and caused serious problems in the cherries' phenological development, cherry trees have had a good accumulation of cold this year. According to weather forecasts, the report states, producers can expect a full bloom of fruit in general, including pome fruit, in the last week of September 2016.
The INTA also warns against "the spring frosts caused by the de-acclimation process triggered by the average temperatures of recent weeks and the temperatures forecasted for the next days. Temperatures of -2.5 °C for periods more than one hour can cause frost damage to the swollen buds of Lapins, Sweet Heart, and Royal Down cherries," they stated.
According to the report, "the average date in Alto Valle between 1971 and 2012 when the pears and apples achieve the required cold (900-1000 hours of cold) is between July 18 and July 26. After that, the plants start accumulating heat units and the bloom begins.
Source: rionegro.com.ar