The peach campaign will start next week or the next with the thinning of the earliest varieties. The Regulatory Council of the Designation of Origin expects 2017 to be a "normal" year, similar to 2016, when a good production and high quality fruit were obtained. For now, the impact of the late frosts has not been significant, as explained by the president of the PDO Melocotón de Calanda, Samuel Sancho.
Last year, the cooperatives of the 45 municipalities of the provinces of Teruel and Zaragoza in which fruit trees under this PDO are grown achieved similar results. In total, about 3,200,000 kilos of fruit were certified; an increase of 25% compared to the previous season. In 2015, about 2,700,000 kilos of the product were harvested. The production record was reached in 2009, when the harvest stood at 5.5 million kilos.
The absence of hail and persistent mists during the ripening period were two key factors in determining the product quality. Although the drought was not beneficial for the fields, the lack of rainfall did not negatively affect the product. The summer storms, which are often accompanied by hail in Lower Aragon, are undoubtedly the main drag on this agricultural sector. It is worth recalling that the rains of September 2015 affected 700 hectares of peaches in the districts of Puigmoreno and Valmuel. There were also damages in Matarraña, in municipalities like Valdeltormo.
Source: lacomarca.net
