Desert Springs farm is central Australia’s largest melon farm. It is currently ramping up its summer harvest, but yields have been affected by nearby bushfires this year. Manager Paul McLaughlin said the harvest had started off well, but a fire in November had caused some issues.
"There was like an ash layer over the melon leaves, that's why we've got very funny maturity with our melons, because it slowed down the photosynthesis on some of the plants," he said. "It hasn't affected the flavor, it's just slower maturing … but now that we've had rain, it's going to look better."
McLaughlin said he would normally load a couple of hundred trucks worth of watermelons, but this year's yield was down by up to 15 per cent on last year's harvest.
Source: abc.net.au