Orange, NSW, district cherry growers have been forced to start watering their crops months earlier than usual due to a serious lack of rainfall.
Nashdale grower Guy Gaeta said he had been in the business for 32 years and had never seen it this dry.
Mr Gaeta said farmers normally started watering their crops in summer but this season he had been forced to start early – using up water reserves he might crucially need closer to harvest time.
He said the region had been hit by a “green drought.”
Mr Gaeta said farmers might be forced to cut out some paddocks to concentrate their water reserves on less trees to ensure they had fruit for picking in December/January.
He said he had supply for only eight weeks of watering.
NSW Cherry Growers Association president Fiona Hall said the situation was being felt across the region.
Mrs Hall said water reserves were down to 50 per cent, compared to full storage 12 months ago, after a dry winter.
“Water storage is the problem,” she said. “We need a good downpour, we need the run-off.”
Source: goodfruitandvegetables.com.au
