Frost strikes lemons in Northwest Argentina
During days of harsh climate, the fruit was exposed to temperatures between -2 ° to -11 ° for 3-12 hours per day. This led to an alert in the quality control processes, designed to preserve the quality of the lemons for export, minimizing the risk of including damaged fruit to shipments.
It is still too early to give precise details of how much of the crop has been frost damaged, but All Lemon anticipates reduced shipments as a result, commencing around week 31.
All Lemon member companies have taken a number of measure to minimise the damage:
• Comprehensive review of the batch field to harvest to make sure there are no visible symptoms of frost. Harvest was postponed until damage becomes more visible.
• A systematic sampling of fruit entering the packing process. The minimum sample size was 100 units per sample.
Meanwhile, All Lemon inspectors must:
• Increase the number of visits by 50%, every week and in every packing line.
• Increase in each visit the number of samples for analysis.
• In addition to inspecting finished boxes, inspectors began to control the fruit that comes directly from the field (preselection).
• Reinforce the advice provided to the sixteen member companies to implement preventive controls aimed at detecting fruit damaged by the frost.
The 2013 season's first stage developed during a rapidly changing climate. This year in Northwestern Argentina there was a mild Winter start. It was very dry, with high temperatures and low rainfall. The Summer has also been hot and dry.
These factors determined problems for the early season fruit. A medium to small size fruit is predominant as a result.
For more information:
Martina Delacroix
All Lemon
info@all-lemon.com
www.all-lemon.com