Since the 9th of July, the French department of Upper-Corsica has been placed in a state of drought vigilance by the prefecture. Some restriction measures have been taken for private individuals. Professionals are excluded for the moment but must adapt and moderate their consumption.
“Everyone is worried for September because we see the water reserves fade away and no rain has been announced yet,” explains François-Xavier Ceccoli, president of the producer group Corsica Comptoir. “We must stay positive. My trees are not more stressed than in 2017, and this year irrigation of the citrus trees started around mid-June, instead of the end of April some other years,” explains citrus grower Claire Falcucci.
“For the moment, we have not had any water restriction from the Office of Hydraulic Equipment of Corsica (OEHC) so we can irrigate. Of course, the land is dry but the situation will only be critical when we can no longer irrigate,” explains Jean-Paul Mancel, citrus grower and president of the Association for the Promotion and Defense of the Clementine of Corsica (Aprodec). He is worried about the increasing length of the irrigation periods over time. “Last year, we had to irrigate until the end of October.”
Source: corsenetinfos.corsica / corsematin.com
