The future of Ukrainian stonefruit orchards depends on the weather situation in the coming week, with growers nervous that they could again suffer losses, according to Fruit-Inform.

Weather conditions are one of the main factors to shape the future of stonefruit orchards in spring. Abnormally high temperature were registered in several countries in February-March, which provoked early blossoming of stonefruit trees and an expected cold spell could be a major threat to those crops. Similar phenomenon was observed in the southern regions of Ukraine and Russia in the beginning of last year. Sharp drops in temperature in January 2015 and a cold spell in March and April resulted in significant losses of stonefruit crops in the southern regions of Ukraine. According to growers' estimations, some farms lost up to 90% of their crops.

There have been no reports of early blossoming of stonefruit trees in Ukrainian orchards yet. However, growers say that it is too early to relax. ''Trees are still at rest. However, everything will depend on the situation in the coming week. If blossoming starts, and the temperature reaches critical three degrees below zero, then we will have to worry,'' says a grower from Kherson Oblast.