The storms recorded a few days ago caused considerable damages in a large area along the Ebro valley, with damages reported in 7 provinces of 5 different autonomous communities, including La Rioja, where hail hit the pear farms of Rincón de Soto.

"The reports for this season had pointed to a full harvest and very good quality pears under the PDO Rincon de Soto, but on Friday we were surprised by a heavy hail and rain storm," said Adolfo Najera, president of SAT Frutas y Verduras Valle de Rincón, an entity attached to the PDO. "We are still waiting for assessments to be carried out at the farms to determine the total damage, but we, at SAT Valle de Rincón, have already identified damages to various extents in 150 of the 250 hectares where our pears are grown."

"It's a pity," said Adolfo, "because at a vegetative and productive level, this was an ideal year for the pears under the PDO Rincón de Soto. From the beginning, there was a perfect fruit setting and the trees had the right amount of fruit, so each pear has shown an extraordinary development."

"Now we are waiting for the damage assessment to be completed, with the uncertainty of the amount of fruit that will be lost. Fortunately, this year we will still manage to have a normal harvest with fruit of very good caliber, unlike last year, when there was very little fruit due to the spring frosts and the calibers were small due to the heat; and that is going to make up for the losses."

Source - https://www.freshplaza.com