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- Cold and green: up to 40% of the fruit harvest may be lost in the south of the Russian Federation due to frosts
Cold and green: up to 40% of the fruit harvest may be lost in the south of the Russian Federation due to frosts
Up to 40% of the fruit harvest may be lost due to frosts in some regions in the south and Central Russia - Krasnodar and Stavropol Territories, Crimea, Bryansk region and others. This was reported to Izvestia by the Russian Horticultural Union and confirmed by farmers in the regions. Apricots, peaches, and cherries suffered the most. The Ministry of Agriculture noted that the damage will be calculated after the weather stabilizes. The National Union of Agricultural Insurers believes that bad weather can negatively affect crops on an area of at least 4.7 thousand hectares.
Recurrent frosts destroy apricots
Frosts that hit the southern and central regions of Russia after April 12 can destroy up to 40% of the fruit tree harvest. We are talking, in particular, about the Krasnodar and Stavropol territories, the Crimea, the Bryansk region and other subjects. Farmers in these regions told Izvestia about this.
— Based on the information we have received from gardeners, we are talking about stone fruit crop losses of up to 40%. At the same time, in some areas, for example, up to 100% of the apricot harvest was lost," Tatiana Oleinik, head of the Russian Horticultural Union in the Republic of Crimea, told Izvestia.
According to her, the frosts turned out to be unexpected and lasted in the republic for almost a week, with temperatures reaching -4 degrees for three or four days in a row. Such conditions can destroy the fetus, Tatiana Oleinik emphasized. Someone managed to take measures to save the trees (insulation, smoke, spraying), but someone did not manage to save anything. First of all, according to her, we are talking about apricots, peaches, cherries — they suffered the most.
Olga Bondareva, head of the Bryansk regional branch of the Horticultural Union, agrees with this assessment.
— Frosts in our region have seriously damaged the harvest of fruit trees. All the buds that have already blossomed have already been beaten by frost. These are, first of all, apple trees, cherries, and pears. Therefore, the losses will be no less than in Crimea," she explained in an interview with Izvestia.
Another region that suffered from bad weather was the Krasnodar Territory, where in recent days the temperature in some areas has dropped to -6 degrees.
— The fact that after such a cold snap there will be crop losses is understandable even to a person far from agriculture. Frosts during the growing season and flowering of gardens, of course, have a negative impact," said Alexander Shipulin, chairman of the Association of Peasant (Farmer) Farms of the Krasnodar Territory.
According to him, farmers are very worried and struggling with the bad weather, but it is difficult to say how all this will end against the background of the autumn and winter drought.
Frosts of up to -6 degrees from April 12 to 15 were reported in the Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Karachay-Cherkess Republic. "There is a possibility of emergencies and incidents related to damage and death of agricultural crops, possible damage to flowering and budding early stone crops," the agency said in a statement on its website.
The Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Rostov region also notified the population about night frosts up to -4 degrees from April 15 to 17. On April 15, an "orange" danger level will be set in the Volgograd region due to the same temperature.
The situation is also critical for the Stavropol Territory. As reported by the local Ministry of Agriculture on April 14, farmers may miss up to 40-50% of the harvest of plums, apricots and peaches due to frosts. The seed trees are in the best position — apple trees, pears. According to the ministry, by the end of the week, experts will assess the situation in all crops in more detail. They also noted that winter crops were not affected by the frosts. Earlier, the Ministry of Emergency Situations reported that frosts in the region will last from April 12 to April 15, and the temperature will drop to -5 degrees.
Will insurance save farmers
The Ministry of Agriculture told Izvestia that recurrent frosts in Russia, including on the territory of horticultural subjects of the Southern and North Caucasian federal districts, are quite common.
"In some years, even in the southern regions of the country, recurrent frosts during the flowering period of fruit crops can be repeated three to four times a season," the ministry's press service noted.
The ministry stressed that it is possible to conduct a damage analysis solely based on the results of a survey of fruit plantations after the temperature regime has stabilized.
"Accordingly, it is currently premature to draw conclusions and assess the possible damage caused by recurrent frosts," the ministry believes.
According to Izvestia, the National Union of Agricultural Insurers (NSA), pre-freezing in the south of Russia can harm perennial fruit crops. The risk zone includes orchards, vineyards and berry fields insured on an area of at least 4.7 thousand hectares under existing insurance contracts with state support.
The press service of the association also reported that most of the fruit crops were insured in the Krasnodar Territory - 2.1 thousand hectares. These include 1.1 thousand hectares of vineyards, 0.7 thousand hectares of seed trees (apple trees, pears, etc.), 0.2 thousand hectares of stone fruit (plums, cherries, etc.) orchards and 0.1 thousand hectares of berry fields.
In Crimea, 1.4 thousand hectares are protected by insurance, of which 0.9 thousand hectares are vineyards.
— A sharp cold snap and snowfall have been observed in the North Caucasus since the end of March, in the Kuban and Crimea — since the second week of April. Before the arrival of the cold weather, warm and snowless winters were observed in this area, with temperatures in March reaching +20...+25 degrees. However, later there was a decrease in air temperature to negative values. The facts of the care of flowering fruit trees under the snow are noted," the National Union of Agricultural Insurers reported.
The organization noted that in 2024, in early May, Russia also experienced recurrent frosts in the European part of the country, which led to damage to more than 19 thousand hectares of plantings. Due to the lack of insurance protection for this area of agricultural production, the government, on behalf of the president, allocated almost 931 million rubles from the reserve fund on September 19, 2024 to compensate farmers who grow fruits and berries. Assistance was sent to agricultural producers in the Voronezh, Lipetsk, Belgorod, Tambov, Volgograd, Kursk, Rostov, Penza, and Saratov regions.
— The fate of the harvest will depend on many factors — how long the frosts will last, how low the temperatures will be. -4 degrees is a critical value for fruit trees. Especially delicate are the flowers of apricots, which bloom first, and sweet cherries. Apple trees are less sensitive, as their flowers appear later," Leonid Kholod, ex—Deputy Minister of Agriculture, told Izvestia.
According to him, the second important aspect that needs to be taken into account is that at temperatures below +10 degrees, plants stop pollinating bees. Therefore, if the cold snap lasts for a long time, and the temperature is in the plus range, but the heat is not enough for pollination, then this will also negatively affect the fruit harvest.
Any frost below -2 ...-4 degrees reduce yields, Sergei Korshunov, chairman of the Board of the Union of Organic Farming, told Izvestia. According to him, given the climatic changes, the introduction of nature-like agricultural technologies and the transition to adapted, sustainable varieties and hybrids is becoming mandatory for agricultural producers.
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