While last year's fruit harvest in Czech and Moravian orchards was the greatest since 2010, this year, fruit growers expect the total volume to fall by a quarter. It is a result of the spring frosts and hail in some municipalities, but mainly also of the dry weather. Apricots have been the most thriving crop this year, according to the Fruit Union of the Czech Republic; however, the fruit did not achieve the same success as last year. The cherry harvest is also worse, and the results of the apple production have yet to be reported. Still, it is estimated that the production of some growers will fall by up to two thirds. According to experts, artificial irrigation in orchards is an essential asset to obtain good yields and maintain the competitiveness of Czech fruit growing in the current dry years. Therefore, the state has been supporting the setting up of drip irrigation since 2001. “Currently, we have drip irrigation set up on more than 4,000 hectares in the Czech Republic, which is approximately one third of the total. We still have two thirds of the orchards without irrigation," said the Chairman of the Fruit Union of the Czech Republic, Martin Ludvík. He recalled that small fruit growers with up to 20 hectares dealing with problems caused by freezing or dry weather often end up not renewing their old orchards. In fact, over the last five years, a fifth of the orchards, approximately four million trees, have disappeared from the Czech landscape. He added that in 1989 there were 26,000 hectares of orchards in the Czech Republic, while today there are just 14,000 hectares left. For example, due to the dry weather, fruit growers have started limiting the cultivation of peach trees. Five years ago, there were about 270,000 peach trees in the Czech Republic; now there are about 100,000 less. Furthermore, growers are unable to compete with the low prices of imported peaches. Source - https://www.freshplaza.com