Russia: Up to 70% of harvest lost as billions of rubles damage caused by cold
For example, in Saratov Kray, which has experienced temperatures as low as -35 Celsius, only half the grapevines are protected by earthen barriers.
In Krasnodar Kray, located on the Black and Azov seas, the head of the horticulture and viticulture department, Yevgeny Kritsky, said temperatures have dropped in some places to -31 Celsius and have been accompanied by strong winds.
Kritsky advised that he expected between 10 and 30% harvest reduction as a result.
he also said that just as worrying for the region as the extreme temperatures is a lack of snow which serves as insulation in the fields.
In Kalmykiya, where temperatures have ranged between -10 to -20 Celsius, more than 20 degrees below normal, Deputy Agriculture Minister Gennady Ragozin said "the trees aren't damaged but the buds are frozen over and it looks like there won't be a harvest at all."
In Astrakhan, north of the Caspian Sea, officials say as much as 70 percent of fruit from orchards may be lost this year.
In Daghestan, an emergency situation has been declared for the fields and vineyards in the area around the provincial capital, Makhachkala, and 11 other districts.
Daghestani Deputy Minister of Agriculture Bashir Baytemirov called it a "catastrophe" and said damage to the harvest would be measured in billions of rubles.
Russian agricultural officials concede there will be substantial damage to this year's fruit crop. They said damage to fruits such as strawberries that grow low to the ground will be minimal and that orchards in northern areas of Russia would not be affected, since they grow in areas where temperatures of -30 or -35 Celsius are common.
Source: www.rferl.org
