"This year's hail is making us understand that it's right to invest in protective solutions. It's not fair to invest a lot of money and lose everything in just two minutes. Insurances increase year after year and, with the volumes produced, three-four years are enough to repay a structure that lasts 20 years and a net that lasts at least 10," explains a stone fruit producer from Puglia.
Coldiretti reported that 30% of preserved tomatoes cannot be planted in northern Italy due to the non-stop rain in May, which has made the land inaccessible. Water stagnation affected various parts of the peninsula, damaging both fruit and vegetables.
"Cherries suffer the most because they crack, but we also lost one in four fruits for apricots, peaches, nectarines and plums." A 20% drop in peach volumes is expected in the south and a 15% drop in the north. A 10-30% drop is expected for cherries, but fruits are bigger and of a better quality.
Damage caused by hail in Nova Siri on May 21st
"Fewer plums will be available, while there will be a 20% drop in apricot volumes in Emilia-Romagna, Campania, Basilicata, Puglia, Sicilia, Piemonte and Calabria".
Puglia
In Puglia, the rain hit the province of Foggia and moved on to the Bari province and Salento.
"Incessant rain, floods and hailstorms have hit the Puglia countryside hard, as both harvesting and sowing operations are compromised. In the Foggia province, melon plants have been flooded in Apricena and tomatoes, asparagus and cherries in Foggia, San Giovanni Rotondo, San Marco in Lamis and Amendola were also damaged," reports Coldiretti Puglia president Gianni Cantele.
"The bad weather hit the Bari province as well, as open fields remain inaccessible, meaning potato harvesting operations had to be interrupted," adds Coldiretti Puglia director Angelo Corsetti.
Coldiretti Foggia requires inspections to be carried out by the Assessorato all'Agricoltura, so as to assess the damage. In the meantime, the Giunta regionale should declare state of natural disaster.
"Puglia has always had to exist with a paradox - it has to endure long periods of drought but also has to deal with floods, hailstorms and torrential rain."
The work of an entire year destroyed in just a few minutes. The photos (taken from the Cia Facebook Page) refer to what happened on 22nd May 2018 in the Foggia province. Other reports also come from Lavello, Minervino and Canosa, where vineyards, tomatoes and vegetables have been destroyed.
The situation is critical in Basilicata as well. As reported by lasiritide.it, the hail storms hit various parts of the region causing a lot of damage on apricot orchards.
Flooded fields in Piacenza
After the heavy hailstorms in Val Tidone and the flash flood in the Bettola area, heavy rain fell flooding fields. "The most affected areas are just outside of the city, as tomato plants are covered in water. What is more, as temperatures are expected to increase quickly over the next few days, plants could be subjected to a lot of stress."
"Ripe cherries are already compromised and the incessant rain is making us worried about those that are ripening now. In addition, we have to deal with the damage caused by starlings and crows," explains producer Fausto Maffini.
Crops under water in Arezzo
As reported by Natalino Bartoli, owner of "L'Ortolano della Valdichiana", on lanazione.it, "the situation is dire as all the first transplants are ruined. We couldn't do anything for twenty days and, in addition to the rain, we also had to deal with hailstorms, which compromised our work further. The season was delayed by at least a month."