Hungary: 'Cherry blossoms are the best we've seen in 5 years'

As with many European countries, the extremely cold temperatures at the end of February, beginning of March, have brought major losses for apricots and peaches in Western Hungary, as well as peach losses in the South of Hungary. Fortunately, apricots in the North Eastern part of the country were spared, meaning that the country has not lost all of it's production.

With the orchards now coming into blossoming stage, Peter Kelemen said that it is easier now to get a better picture of what the 'beast from the east' left behind in its wake.

Peter reported that the bud damage for sweet and sour cherries is between 10-50%, with more damage seen in early blooming varieties and less in late ones. Very little damage was reported for plums, while no damage has been reported for apple and pear production.

"Despite the damage to the buds for cherries, this doesn't mean that we won't have a good crop in the end. The weather in April has been steady with nice temperatures, with a little too much wind at times, but the general conditions have been good," Peter explains.

"The freezing temperatures weren't as damaging to the cherries as for apricots and peaches. In fact, the cherry blooms are the best we have seen in the last 5 years, which gives us a lot of hope for a good crop. As long as nothing extraordinary happens weather wise, I expect a good crop of cherries, plums, apples and pears."

For more information:
Peter Kelemen
Agro-Consulting Trade Kft.
Email: peter.kelemen@agroconsulting.hu