According to the preliminary data of the agency, the harvest of cherry orchards damaged by bad weather may be reduced by about 55%, apricot and plum – by 40-45%, peach and cherry – by 25-30%, apple and walnut – by 15-20%.
These figures will be further refined before the industry ministry decides on the scope, methods and sources of assistance to growers. Nevertheless, the first official figures show that the damage is not as bad as many people thought in April and May. Shortly after the country was hit twice by waves of late spring frosts, possible damage to stone fruit orchards of some species was estimated at 70-90%.
In mid-June, many gardeners noted, for example, that due to frosts only some varieties of cherries had noticeably (by 40-50%) reduced yields. However, the yield of some late-ripening varieties may even be higher than last year.
A specialized agricultural census of perennial plantations in RM was last conducted more than a quarter of a century ago. Therefore, no one has exact data on the total area of orchards in the country. Experts of fruit growers’ organizations are only able to assume that the area of affected orchards indicated by MAIA is no more than 10-15% of all perennial plantations in Moldova.
