Fruit growers worried about late frosts: damage to winegrowers

The late frosts after very early flowering are a particular challenge for Saxony's fruit growers this year. "We are very worried," said Udo Jentzsch, Managing Director of the Saxon Fruit Association, on Friday, referring to the frosty nights predicted for the coming weekend with local temperatures of up to four degrees Celsius. Winegrowers in the Elbe Valley are also expecting further damage - and are protecting vines in vulnerable locations.

According to Jentzsch, fruit trees blossomed almost three weeks earlier than normal this time. "We've never seen apple blossom this early before." The mild winter without frost was also beneficial, especially in the soil. "Vegetation starts from five degrees plus." Night frosts of minus 5 degrees Celsius and over a longer period of time would be "catastrophic", said Jentzsch. "We hope it won't be that bad."

The German Weather Service expects "very widespread frost" at the weekend due to cold air from the north. It will begin on Sunday night with slightly sub-zero temperatures and continue on Monday with up to minus 3 degrees Celsius, "in unfavorable locations down to minus 5 degrees", said a meteorologist in Leipzig.

"We had late frost this night with considerable damage to the young plants growing up from the ground," reported Radebeul winegrower Karl Friedrich Aust. They make up ten percent of his winery's cultivation area. "We have 50 percent damage on half of it." This is bearable, but young vines remember this for life. They are now protected with soil and frost candles are placed in older plants. "Capricious weather has always existed," said Aust. It's like a "poker game" where you have to invest in every round.

Five weeks until the ice saints in mid-May is very long, said Felix Hößelbarth, Chairman of the Saxony Winegrowers' Association. Initial frost damage does not yet mean a loss of yield. The vines could be heated one more night, but not three nights in a row. Due to the early budding, also because of the warmth in March four weeks before the long-term average, they are well developed. Losses are therefore to be feared.

The Schloss Wackerbarth state winery wants to avoid or minimize damage, a spokesperson said. Leaves and fruit clusters are already visible on the vines and sub-zero temperatures are critical. Bonfires and fire candles are intended to warm the soil, especially in young vineyards, which account for around a third of the total vineyard area of around 28 hectares.

If the temperatures remain below minus 1 degree Celsius for longer, fruit growers are also threatened with crop losses. Jentzsch said that the blossom had finished and there were already small fruit sets. It now also depends on whether there are strong winds and whether the ground is wet or dry. Fires are being lit again in some areas. Only the strawberries could be protected with simple means. "If they are covered with fleece or foil, they can withstand it; and some sprout again after the frost."