The agricultural organizations Asaja, COAG and UPA have expressed their concern about the current heat wave, which has come after months of drought.
Besides the impact that the lack of rainfall has already had on rainfed arable crops (such as cereals), there are now fears about the possible effect on crops such as olives, vineyards or nuts, as "there are little water reserves," as explained by José Carlos Caballero, of the technical services of Asaja.
The harvesting of these crops takes place in autumn, and the prospects are negative if no rainfall arrives.
Regarding the irrigated areas, the representative of Asaja reported that there is a situation of "pre-alert", given the risk that the lack of water reserves could entail for crops such as citrus fruits.
Although the concern is widespread across the country, the situation is more striking in the west, in Castile-Leon, and in areas from "Castile-La Mancha to the north," although in eastern Andalusia there are also fears amongst olive producers, according to Caballero.
The president of COAG-Murcia, Miguel Padilla, has pointed out that the heat in the south east (Almeria, Murcia or Alicante) is similar to last year's, and that drylands "resist more than the national average, despite usual losses affecting cereals, but irrigated areas may be facing "a huge problem if the weather remains dry."
"The magnitude of the disaster is such that very few remember such a tragic situation for Spanish agriculture. A year with bad harvests in rainfed areas used to be compensated by good ones with irrigated crops and vice versa, but this time the results could be negative in all sectors."
The UPA has highlighted the concerns amongst producers of tomatoes for processing, because they don't know how the plants will respond to the heat now that flowers are in the setting process, and fruit growers are also worried, because the high temperatures accelerate the growth process and the oversupply would result in rock bottom prices.
Another problem in the north is the high probability of fires due to the heat and the large amount of flammable material accumulated in many forests, according to UPA.
Source - http://www.freshplaza.com
