High temperatures approaching 40°C in southern Italy in late June have reportedly caused significant damage to tomato production, particularly in the region of Puglia, in the south-east of the country.
According to Fedagri-Confcooperative, Italy's national federation of agricultural and agri-food cooperatives, producers in the region estimate the heatwave will result in a 25-30 per cent downturn in tomato production.
'During the last ten days of June temperatures were a long way above the optimum and this has led to very poor fruit set and excess apical rot in developing tomato fruits,' commented Giorgio Mercuri, president of Confcooperative's Foggia branch and national vice-president of Fedagri-Confcooperative.
The extent of the damage could be even greater, he said, should such high temperatures persist during early July.
Tomato plants tend to require temperatures of at least 20°C during flowering but this can rise to around 25-28°C when the fruit itself is developing.
However, when temperatures exceed that level, the plant's ability to produce normal-sized fruit decreases.
For producers in the Puglia province of Foggia, the extreme heat is also compounding an ongoing deficit in the amount of water available.
'What seemed to be a season with an abundance of tomatoes now looks set to become one of the Foggia Province's least productive campaigns,' Mercuri concluded.
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