Fruit growers: Significant losses in cherry harvest in Saxony

Saxony's fruit growers are only expecting an extremely meagre cherry harvest this year. "90 percent of the cherry harvest will fail this year due to the frost," says Udo Jentzsch, Managing Director of the Saxon Fruit Association, which also represents the interests of fruit growers in Saxony-Anhalt. This is mainly due to the comparatively early flowering period and the subsequent frost. When the frost hit at the end of April, the blossoms and some of the fruit froze. The farms were therefore only able to harvest 10 to 15 percent of the normal quantity. The association plans to officially open the cherry season on June 20 - the mood is subdued.

Cherries have already been harvested in the Free State for two weeks - but these are "homeopathic quantities". According to Jentzsch, there is no increase in frost events, but rather a shift in the growing seasons. Spring is coming earlier and earlier. "We've never had cherries blossoming at the beginning of April before." Cherry blossoms don't normally bloom until the end of April. Earlier flowering times would mean that frost damage could become more frequent in future.

There are various methods to combat frost damage, but these are often costly or resource-intensive. For example, the so-called "frost buster" - a kind of large hairdryer on wheels - uses gas to blow warm air into the orchard. Perhaps the most effective method is frost protection irrigation. This involves spraying the trees with water. The ice cover ensures that the temperature around the blossom does not fall below freezing. However, Jentzsch explains that in most cases the necessary water is not available. In his opinion, the trees should be bred in future so that they flower later again.