Last night, Tuesday 26 January, it was announced that up to $2.69 million will be made available to Nova Scotia fruit tree growers to help them financially recover from an outbreak of fire blight in trees that followed post-tropical storm Arthur in 2014. The money will be dispersed over 5 years, with the federal government covering 60 per cent of the cost and the Nova Scotia government covering the rest.
Andrew Parker, president of the Nova Scotia Fruit Growers’ Association, said in a press release, “This will help the Nova Scotia apple industry reinvest money to continue to produce high-value fruit and capitalize on the strong export market the industry has developed.” He estimates fire blight will likely cost growers $20 million over seven years.
Fire blight is a disease that affects apple and pear trees; an estimated 95 per cent of orchards in Nova Scotia were affected in some way by the fire blight after the 2014 storm. It's a disease that can result in the loss of branches and tree structure. In severe cases, when the bacteria progresses into the trunk or infects the rootstock, entire trees can be killed.
Robert Piell says his orchard, Town Plot Orchards in Port Williams, lost 4,000 trees.
"It was demoralizing. It was hard to get up in the morning in those days," said Piell. The best farmers could do was spray, treat with copper, and remove infected plants.
The fire blight initiative will pay to replace trees, get the outbreak under control and minimize the potential for damage in the future.
It's being delivered under the AgriRecovery Framework, which lets the government respond to unforeseen natural disasters that result in huge costs for producers.
Sources - freshplaza.com
