We recognise the importance of timely crop updates for our customers in the F&B industry – that\u2019s why, as harvest season is just around the corner, we\u2019re sharing this summary of the latest agricultural reports from our partner growers and expert agronomy teams. Keep reading for an exclusive sneak peek into this year\u2019s crop performance (so far!) and our predictions for the weeks ahead\u2026<\/p>\n
A slow start in Spain<\/strong><\/p>\n In our Spanish strawberry fields, crops currently appear high-quality and healthy \u2013 however, both hydroponic and ground crops are somewhat delayed in terms of production. It\u2019s a challenge we\u2019re seeing across the region \u2013 and it could be due to recent heavy rain showers or the impact of new plant varieties. The weather has been warm and sunny recently, however, the coming week\u2019s weather promises some rain and diverse temperatures ranging between 10\u00baC and 21\u00baC \u2013 which could impact production further.<\/p>\n Temperature swings<\/strong><\/p>\n In the first half of April, Polish and Serbian fields were drenched in warm sunshine, with unseasonably high temperatures (hitting the high-20s!) causing vegetation to grow very quickly. Flower buds are already appearing on our strawberry plants, which appear healthy and strong. In fact, if their growth doesn\u2019t slow down, blooming will take place up to two weeks earlier than previous seasons.<\/p>\n However, some recent cold, frosty weather across Poland could hamper this growth \u2013 and in Serbia, there was even snow in the more mountainous areas. Due to two consecutive days of frost, tree fruits are expected to incur significant damage in Serbia as they were already in bloom, whereas the extent of damage to planted fruits is still uncertain. Our team in Poland will be evaluating any potential damage to berry plants in the region in the next week.<\/p>\n