Apricots: Earlier weather conditions devastated prospects in regions
June 9, 2018 at 2:55 PM ,
Starry Night Ltd.
BULGARIA. Weather conditions during the Winter were unusual, as for the majority of the period, the season could well be characterized as mild. Throughout the country, thick levels of snow did not amass, as usually is characteristic for the period; and, while snowfalls were present, mainly in regions throughout the general North, the white cover did not endure for more than several days long – it did only in mountainous parts. Temperatures were also unusually higher – above the threshold for the period, almost throughout the whole season.
Apricots: The culprit is well-known
However, towards the end of the season, in the beginning of March 2018, temperatures drastically fell, at regions reaching as low as – 20 Celsius degrees, which inevitably damaged apricots’ potential. The sudden cold spell hit the bud right at the blossoming period of trees. The impact was fatal since the general characteristics of the Winter were mild, but suddenly, a cold wave of low temperatures damaged the fruit-bearing bud. At that point, farmers throughout the North regions, realized the prospects for the upcoming harvest were drastically compromised. Had the low temperatures hit during the months of December 2017 or January 2018, trees’ buds within the North regions would have survived.
Currently, the majority of farmers within the aforementioned regions are certain their output will be minimal. Although in some orchards within the other parts of the country, farmers expect strong outputs, the largest share of apricots produced on an annual basis, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, comes from orchards within the central North region. Therefore, national output is expected to be considerably affected.
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