ARCHIVED - Sub-zero frosts deal devastating blow to Murcia crops
Farmers in the Murcia Region warn the frigid weather will push up the price of fruit and veg
Not long after farmers in the Region of Murcia were lamenting the effects a water shortage was having on their crops, agricultural workers are waking up this week to different scenes of devastation: lettuce, artichokes and even citrus fruit frozen solid in their fields as a result of sub-zero temperatures.
In the past couple of days, the fields in the Guadalentín Valley have been the hardest hit by ‘black frost’ – an intense cold with very little moisture in the air. A layer of ice has blanketed the sensitive crops and while the damage is clearly significant, it will take a few days to tell the true impact of this severe weather on the yield.
Thankfully, many farmers brought forward the artichoke harvest so much of the produce has already been collected. Lettuce, lemons and, to a lesser extent, broccoli crops, haven’t been as lucky and coordinator of the Alimer cooperative, Francisco Martínez, has warned that the slow-down in production will inevitably push up the price of fruit and veg.
As temperatures in the middle of the day barely reached 5 or 6ºC in many areas and the mercury plummeted below zero at night, farmers in Totana and Alhama de Murcia have reported damage to broccoli and cauliflower fields. On the other hand, almond and stone fruit trees have remained relatively untouched, since flowering is only just beginning.
But citrus fruits aren’t faring so well, and the harm caused by the intense frost around the Segura Valley “may be more pronounced”. Meanwhile in Lorca, the frost-bitten outer leaves of the lettuces all have to be removed, creating more work and greatly reducing the overall yield.
Incredibly, in Yecla, where the thermometers dropped to a frigid -10ºC, no significant damage has been reported since the most prevalent crops are vines, which lie dormant at this time of year.
Image: Archive
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