Icy Blast from the Past
Published on 26th March, 2005
particularly susceptible to any prolonged periods of cold
The thousands of visitors who packed Benidorm's beaches on Good Friday were probably blissfully unaware of the almost arctic conditions which enveloped the area only a month ago. Unhappily, the freezing cold temperatures which reached as low as eight below zero in some parts of the countryside, have left a terrible legacy for many farmers here.
Agricultural sources say that 20,000 trees, mostly lemons and avocados, have irreversible damage and will not produce any fruit this year when normally about 50,000 tons would be produced. It appears that the lemons produced locally are of the "white" variety which is particularly susceptible to any prolonged periods of cold - normally not a problem here - and now many of the trees are completely devoid of leaves.
The agricultural co-operatives are advising farmers not to prune the affected trees but to wait and see if spring brings any improvement. The disastrous effects of the unseasonable frosts will be felt for several years until the trees can make a full recovery and is bad news for the local agricultural economy which has just predicted the loss of at least half of the normal harvest of the nispero (a small orange fruit) this year for the same reason.
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