The prolonged dry weather is taking its toll on crops across the UK, and onions are no different. Growers are predicting lower yields for the coming season and some harvests have had to be delayed because the ground is too hard.
Almond production in the Lorca districts of La Paca, Zarcilla de Ramos and Las Terreras is under serious threat this year due to a lack of water to irrigate the crop. According to the president of the Campo Alto Irrigation Community, Juan Garcia Corbalan, if there is no relief soon, the almond will fail to mature, costing more than 320 producers their entire annual harvest.
The coconut rhinoceros beetle is a major invasive pest that feeds on coconut palms, betelnut, Pandanus palms, banana, pineapple and sugarcane. In Hawaiʻi, with no natural enemies to this beetle, the damage to crops can be significant.
In recent weeks, the high temperatures recorded have given researchers at the Flemish Center for the Conservation of Horticultural Products (VCBT) and Pcfruit, a Belgian fruit research center, great opportunities to measure the effects of climate change on pear cultivation, reports the Netherlands Fruit Growers' Organization (NFO).
A Thursday evening storm that brought golf-ball-sized hail, heavy rains and whipping winds to parts of Eastern Washington caused significant crop damage.“We had some fields that look like they’re probably a complete loss,” Fairfield farmer Marci Green said.
Last week, the city of Liberty Lake saw golf ball-sized hail through the region. This unusual hail storm left severe damage to homes and properties.Located around 15 miles outside of Spokane Valley, the hail storm caused significant crop damage for wheat farmers. It’s causing a delay to their normal harvesting schedule.
Dieback is becoming an increasingly important problem for avocado producers in Spain. This phytopathology of fungal origin, whose symptoms first become visible at the ends of the branches, with the progressive death of the tissues from the most distal to the base, has always existed and until now it was not considered greatly important, explains Eva Arrebola, researcher of the University of Malaga; but since 3-4 years ago, it has gradually been raising greater and greater concerns.
The biggest drought in 20 years has been declared across the majority of England, as farmers said half their crops could fail, households were warned of taps running dry and supermarkets faced water shortages.
More than 15.10 lakh hectares of crop area in Maharashtra has been affected due to the heavy rain which has been lashing the state for the last few days. Soyabean, cotton, tur, and paddy are some of the major crops which have been affected with the figure expected to go up as the survey continues.
Heat episodes are succeeding one another in France and with them comes drought, causing significant repercussions for farmers. Climatic hazards are leading to a drop in yields for many crops and quality is also being affected.
After a two-month drought in early August, it rained in almost all regions of Moldova. Vine growers note that after a short rainy period, the cracking of berries has begun on many table grape plantations.
Guy Singh-Watson from the Riverford Organic Farmers vegetable growing company in Devon has said the ongoing dry spell has caused its reservoirs to completely run dry. He called it "the worst year in 35 years" in terms of water levels.
Following late last week’s rain, stone fruit growers in California are trying to determine what the impacts of that rain are.“I think it was a quarter of an inch of rain but that’s an unprecedented amount of rain for us at this time of year,” says Jon McClarty of HMC Farms in Kingsburg, California.
At this point in time, Brandenburg's fruit growers are struggling with a drought, sunburn and higher costs. Yields are good overall, but there are cutbacks in certain fruit varieties due to the weather.
In response to the inclusion of $4 billion in drought-relief funding for the Colorado River Basin in the Senate spending bill, Western Growers President & CEO Dave Puglia issued the following statement:
The broccoli and cauliflower producing sector of the Region of Murcia has been particularly affected during the latest campaign and its initial forecasts for the next one are negative.