Everyone was holding their breath, but thankfully damage was limited - the hailstorm that hit Zevio and the surrounding area between Friday 11th and Saturday 12th October 2013 damaged one of the most important apple growing areas and affected Golden Delicious and Granny Smith.
"We inspected the area on Monday morning and the visit was encouraging as the damage wasn't very serious: apples, strawberries and other products were saved by nets and greenhouses, so we can sigh with relief," says Davide Boscaini, technical manager of Apo Scaligera.
"At the moment, we are harvesting Golden, Gala and a bit of Morgans. The quality is good, colours are better than last year even though grades are smaller. Quantities should be in line with 2012, maybe a little more," adds the other technical manager Marco Krampera.
"All of our orchards were spared. Nets did their job and the hailstorm did not cause too much damage, so harvesting can go on without problems," explains Federica Ferrari from Coz Zevio PO.
Crear orchards are the worst off, especially towards Santa Maria di Zevio, Perzacco and Volon, as hail broke the nets. There were no problems in Belfiore, Palù and in the other municipalities.
Val di Non, at least 40 hectares damaged by snow
The Val di Non is facing more serious problems due to another phenomenon unusual in October - snow.
At least forty hectares were affected by last Saturday's snow, which caused the anti-hail plants to collapse on top of the orchards.
According to Giorgio Gaiardelli, chairman of the Consorzio Difesa produttori agricoli (Codipra), the damage can be assessed between €7 and 10 million, considering the loss of production, redoing the plants and future losses.
"Melinda's website reports that, of the 6,500 hectares cultivated in the Val di Non and di Sole, around 40 were damaged by snow. Most of them were those covered with nets, as the weight of the snow collapsed the supporting structures."