The cold front that hit the entire peninsula caused million of Euros worth of damage for agriculture. Many will remember the mornings between 19th and 22nd April 2017 for years to come, as pears, apples, stone fruit, potatoes, onions, strawberries and green beans were burned by the low temperatures.
Kiwi buds and leaves burned by the cold (photo by UL)
We talked to a few growers who provided an account of what happened in various parts of Italy.
Giorgio Tusini owns 63 hectares of pear orchards in San Prospero, in the Modena province. "We feel defenceless. In just a few years, we've had to deal with earthquakes, floods and tornadoes. This year, it's the frost. On 20th April, temperatures dropped to -2.7°C. In the mornings, temperatures were 0.5-1°C below zero on average. Damage is going to be serious, even if it's still too early to make an assessment. Pear trees were all in the post-setting stage." 80% of the orchards are of the Abate variety, the rest is dedicated to the cultivation of the Santa Maria, William and Conference varieties.
Tusini also explains that the 30% insurance exemption strongly penalises producers in an event like this. Without forgetting that many did not manage to get insurance due to the bureaucratic delays of the new insurance system. "Temperatures remained below zero for many hours, that's why I'm not very optimistic."
Andrea Fiorini describes the serious damage to kiwi orchards in Zevio (Verona). "The situation was worse in the Adige river inlets where air stagnates. Potato plants already have blackened leaves. Of course new buds will develop, but grades will be smaller. Pears and apples were affected as well."
Technician Mario Springhetti explains that, in the Non Valley (Trento), "the cold temperatures affected both the valley and hillsides. We are used to stark temperature changes in the valley, so much as that 120 hectares are equipped with anti-frost systems. But 700 hectares on the hillsides are not equipped with these systems and, even if they were, water would not be enough to make them all work at the same time. We are worried because a lot of the flowers have blackened. It will be possible to make an assessment only in 15-20 days' time, but the damage was also worsened by the fact that blossoming was 7-10 days early."
Antonio Benzi owns 12 hectares of strawberries (7 of which are open fields) in Cesena. "I see a lot of blackened flowers. Seven hectares in this state mean €300 thousand of gross saleable production that is just lost. I truly don't know what we will manage to salvage. Prospects were looking good, but then this happened."
Benzi grows varieties such as Sibilla, Aprica and Alba. No problem for the plants in poly-tunnels but, in open fields, plants had already been affected by the first hailstorms of a few days earlier.
In Ravenna, kiwi buds are burnt. As reported by Daniela Neri, "the cold temperatures hit some areas and spared others."
Andrea Grassi, Apofruit technician, reports heavy damage to potatoes in various areas in Veneto. In Modena, there is frost damage on cherry trees both in the plain and on the hills. In Lazio, between 30 and 50% of kiwi trees between Aprilia and Latina have been damaged.
Coldiretti Toscana reports problems in the entire region as "frost affected all open-field produce such as lettuce, green beans and tomatoes."
In Bologna, President Alberto Zambon explains that some areas "were actually affected by the hailstorm rather than by the cold temperatures, as luckily they remained above zero."
Meteorologist Pierluigi Randi explained what happened. "The frost events were characterised by very low relative humidity even during the night and towards dawn. This means the lower layers next to the ground get colder, as there is little water vapour that can partially contain temperature drops."
"The phenomenon of dry frost is called 'black frost' and it's the worst as, in addition to what was explained above, dry air also leads to an increased heat loss of plant surfaces (depending on the type of crop and the extent of the radiating surface), which can reach a temperature much below that of air."
Antonio Benzi owns 12 hectares of strawberries (7 of which are open fields) in Cesena. "I see a lot of blackened flowers. Seven hectares in this state mean €300 thousand of gross saleable production that is just lost. I truly don't know what we will manage to salvage. Prospects were looking good, but then this happened."
Benzi grows varieties such as Sibilla, Aprica and Alba. No problem for the plants in poly-tunnels but, in open fields, plants had already been affected by the first hailstorms of a few days earlier.
In Ravenna, kiwi buds are burnt. As reported by Daniela Neri, "the cold temperatures hit some areas and spared others."
Andrea Grassi, Apofruit technician, reports heavy damage to potatoes in various areas in Veneto. In Modena, there is frost damage on cherry trees both in the plain and on the hills. In Lazio, between 30 and 50% of kiwi trees between Aprilia and Latina have been damaged.
Coldiretti Toscana reports problems in the entire region as "frost affected all open-field produce such as lettuce, green beans and tomatoes."
In Bologna, President Alberto Zambon explains that some areas "were actually affected by the hailstorm rather than by the cold temperatures, as luckily they remained above zero."
Meteorologist Pierluigi Randi explained what happened. "The frost events were characterised by very low relative humidity even during the night and towards dawn. This means the lower layers next to the ground get colder, as there is little water vapour that can partially contain temperature drops."
"The phenomenon of dry frost is called 'black frost' and it's the worst as, in addition to what was explained above, dry air also leads to an increased heat loss of plant surfaces (depending on the type of crop and the extent of the radiating surface), which can reach a temperature much below that of air."
"Hillside frost was also reported, as high-altitude air cooled down during the day and descended towards the valley at night. Fans can be effective against these events, as well as anti-frost irrigation. But it all depends on the cost-benefit ratio and on whether crops can stand hours and hours of irrigation."