This years' apple harvest is going to be only half as much as the overall average, according to estimations of producers. The reason for this is the frost during blossom, as Rolf Hornig, fruit cultivation advisor for Mecklenburg-Vorpommern reported on Friday. He is expected the smallest apple harvest in 26 years.
In 1991 there was a similar situation with frost in spring. On average, the plantations in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern will harvest around 36,000 to 37,000 tons of apples, last year it was 43,700 tons.
He had expected a total loss as well, when temperatures dropped as low as -3.5° Celsius at crest height. But luckily, enough of the blossoms stayed intact. The company did not have any overhead irrigation to protect from frost. This wouldn't be profitable as in 35 years there was only one total and two half losses, explains the senior partner.
Official harvest kick-off for apples in the state is the 30th of August in Kröpelin (County Rostock). In Mecklenburg-Vorpommern apples are cultivated on around 1,500 hectares. This is more than half of the overall cultivation area for fruit.
Consequences of the Spring frosts: Less Apples on the Trees
Due to the intense frosts in spring, many producers in North Rhine-Westphalia are mourning significant losses of volumes. "The harvest in this year will be considerably lower than it was in the past years," says Peter Muß of the Provinzialverband Rheinischer Obst- und Gemüsebauer in Bonn. According to estimations, the harvest will only be about half as big as it was last year. This could be the case in NRW as well.
The harvest of the early varieties has just begun and not all 500 producers in NRW have suffered equal losses. "There are plantations with significant losses, while some report average yields," says Muß.
Source: Proplanta