Last weekend, the country experienced moderate to extreme frost, as well as snowfall, from the regions of Atacama to Los Lagos, reaching temperatures below zero in some localities.
The President of the Association of Fruit Exporters of Chile AG (ASOEX), Ronald Bown, said: "It is still premature to provide conclusive data on any type of damage to fruit or plants. However, according to field assessments being carried out by the technical and professional teams of fruit producing and exporting companies, so far there would be no significant damage. But it is important to point out that the damages to some fruits, such as citrus fruits and avocados, can only be measured after approximately 7 to 10 days."
The leader also said that, given the phenological status of deciduous plants, a new frost, especially during the first week of August, would affect the plants, as many of them would be in budding.
It should be noted that at this time the main fruit trees in production are citrus and avocados.
Bown added that in the case of citrus, the Citrus Committee of ASOEX was evaluating the situation in order to issue a report of the effects of the frosts. Meanwhile, given the geographical areas in which the avocado crops are cultivated, no damages have been reported so far.
According to the chairman of ASOEX's Citrus Committee, Juan Enrique Ortuzar, observations made in the field indicate that there was a very limited level of damage, since most orchards are protected from the cold in the valleys. "Producers have learned their lesson and have planted crops that are more tolerant to the cold in the lower reaches of the valleys, as frost affects this areas more intensely. From that point of view, the industry is better prepared for these events than ten years ago," added Ortuzar.
Finally, the President of ASOEX said that since "frost damage in fruit trees is not immediately observable in its entirety, we will continue to evaluate the situation to provide more detailed and quantitative information about it within the next week."
Temperatures
According to a report of the frost prepared by the Foundation for Fruit Development (FDF), through the Agricultural meteorological Network: www.agroclima.cl, between July 15 and the 17 the lowest temperatures recorded in the regions of Atacama and los Lagos were -7.6ºC in the commune of Villarica on Sunday morning, and -7.3 in Cunco, on Monday July 17.
Meanwhile, the lowest temperatures in the Atacama and Coquimbo regions were recorded in Vicuña (-1.4ºC) and Punitaqui (-2.1ºC), respectively, during the early hours of Monday July 17.
On Monday, in the Region of Valparaíso, the lowest temperature recorded was -4.4ºC in San Felipe, while in the Metropolitan region, the town of Til-Til had the lowest temperature with -7.7ºC.
The lowest temperatures in the regions of O'Higgins, and Maule were observed in Placilla (-4.3 ° C) and Romeral (-5.1 ° C), respectively. Meanwhile, in the Biobio Region, the area of Coihueco reported -5.5 degrees for two days in a row (Sunday July 16 and Monday the 17).
Finally, the lowest temperatures in the regions of Los Ríos and Los Lagos were recorded on Sunday in the communes of La Unión (-4.5ºC) and Río Negro (-4.4ºC).
Source: SimFRUIT