Having withstood the summer’s multiple heatwaves, French kiwifruit growers were hit by last month’s hailstorms, with Primland expecting a 10 per cent drop in production
French kiwifruit marketer Primland expects a drop in volume of around 10 per cent for the coming season – a result not of the scorching, rainless conditions that have persisted this past summer, but August’s destructive localised hailstorms.
“It did not hit a big production area, but those orchards without hail nets experienced major damage,” said Primland’s managing director, Jean-Baptiste Pinel. “Fortunately we have a lot of hail protection in place, but some orchards without nets saw 100 per cent of the crop destroyed.”
Such protection requires an investment, but Pinel believes many more growers will be considering taking action following the impact of this last storm.
Despite the setback, Pinel said the kiwifruit trees had survived the hot, dry summer well. “As with other crops, the growers had to be attentive to the irrigation needs of the trees,” he told Fruitnet. “When the temperature rises above 35C, it’s important to use water to freshen up the air in the orchard to avoid stress on the tree. Fortunately our orchards are equipped with good irrigation systems, so we don’t expect any quality problems with the fruit.”
