Weather
Fruit farmers: frost damage not as bad as 2024
In April 2024, Frost caused great damage to the orchards in Germany. The first April frost ran comparatively lightly – also because it came earlier than last year.
According to an initial assessment, the frost of the past nights did less damage than last year. “The situation is not comparable in 2024,” said the managing director of the Obstbau specialist group, Joerg Hilbers, the German Press Agency. Last year, frosts had destroyed whole harvests at the end of April.
It was a little freezing nationwide. The buds are currently still at a stage where they can handle the cold better, Hilbers said. Peach and apricot would certainly have been damaged. However, both represented a marginal culture. Damage to apple, cherry and plums could not yet be foreseen.
In order to protect their plantations, the fruit growers used irrigation systems and warm air blades. The German Weather Service expects slight frost in the night to Tuesday. It should remain frost-free in the northeast, on the coasts, in the western and southwestern German metropolitan areas and in river lowlands. The temperatures should fall to 0 to minus 4 degrees.
dpa
Source: Stern
