Hailstorm affects nectarine plantations in Bajo Aragón-Caspe region

The farmers in the Bajo Aragón-Caspe region (Spain) have registered a 50% loss in their nectarine harvest due to a hailstorm that occurred last week in the areas of Masatrigos, Zaragoceta, and La Sarga, in the municipality of Caspe. 

Joaquín Bondía, a farmer from Maella, estimates that half of his harvest was lost based on an initial assessment of his farm in Masatrigos. During the storm, a lot of fruits fell to the ground, while many others were severely damaged on the trees. Additionally, the leaves were lost, causing injuries to the woody parts that need to heal before the next season to prevent further complications. In Bondía's case, the hail affected around 3.2 hectares of nectarine trees, where he has approximately 1,400 fruit trees planted. 

However, some neighboring farms prevented such damaging by having previously installed anti-hail nets.

Nectarines were reaching maturity these days, and farmers were just beginning to harvest them. Therefore, this storm arrived at the worst possible time for this year's harvest.

The storm originated in the Bajo Aragón region and moved towards Mequinenza, passing through the municipality of Fabara as well. In the Val de la Figuera area, it caused a 15% to 20% drop of almonds to the ground.

© Copyright 2011 - Fructidor International - All rights reserved.