The fight against spring frosts is heating up
In recent months, I kept coming across similar headlines:
"At least one-third of this year's French wine harvest has been lost..."
"Hungarian fruit growers reported spring frost damage in all regions."
"The grain yield was reduced by 8% due to the late May frost."
If you dig deeper than the devastating headlines, you'll realize that the common thread to the grim reality they portray involves what we call a "spring frost."
"At least one-third of this year's French wine harvest has been lost..."
"Hungarian fruit growers reported spring frost damage in all regions."
"The grain yield was reduced by 8% due to the late May frost."
If you dig deeper than the devastating headlines, you'll realize that the common thread to the grim reality they portray involves what we call a "spring frost."
https://youtu.be/zhT3Fd751jM
What is frost and how can it damage orchards?
The complex relationship between climate change and spring frosts
The UN's latest comprehensive report on climate change says it loud and clear; "Climate change is widespread, rapid and intensifying." The spring frost was always there and kept farmers on their toes. But with climate change spiraling and weather so extreme, farmers are in the dark; they try to anticipate and predict when exactly they will strike next. Additionally, the natural chaotic variability of the atmosphere results in severe and unpredictable cold spells later in early spring. When they occur after the growing season begins, these freezes can cause devastating damage to trees and their productivity for a season and sometimes for life.
Frosts during periods of active plant growth can cause extensive frost damage with huge economic losses and dramatic ecological consequences. Damage affects plant growth, health, competitive ability, and distribution limits. Studies have found that after a frost, it can take 16-38 days for trees to re-leaf, which can adversely affect key processes such as carbon uptake and nutrient cycling. This comes with a huge price tag. For example, the frosts across Europe in the spring of 2017 led to economic losses of €3.3 billion, of which only around €600 million were insured.
The UN's latest comprehensive report on climate change says it loud and clear; "Climate change is widespread, rapid and intensifying." The spring frost was always there and kept farmers on their toes. But with climate change spiraling and weather so extreme, farmers are in the dark; they try to anticipate and predict when exactly they will strike next. Additionally, the natural chaotic variability of the atmosphere results in severe and unpredictable cold spells later in early spring. When they occur after the growing season begins, these freezes can cause devastating damage to trees and their productivity for a season and sometimes for life.
Frosts during periods of active plant growth can cause extensive frost damage with huge economic losses and dramatic ecological consequences. Damage affects plant growth, health, competitive ability, and distribution limits. Studies have found that after a frost, it can take 16-38 days for trees to re-leaf, which can adversely affect key processes such as carbon uptake and nutrient cycling. This comes with a huge price tag. For example, the frosts across Europe in the spring of 2017 led to economic losses of €3.3 billion, of which only around €600 million were insured.
Farmers are the pillars of our food chain. They are in charge of planting, cultivating, harvesting and bringing food to market on a timely and consistent schedule so we can all have food on the table 365 days a year. When spring frosts caused by climate change become the norm, farmers will struggle to grow enough food and meet the demands of the food cycle. This puts farmers and farming communities under stress and adds another hurdle to our already threatened food security.
That was the case in France this year. At the beginning of April, extremely low daily minimum temperatures below -5°C were recorded in several places, which led to heavy damage to vines and fruit trees in these places. To make matters worse, the cold event occurred a week after an episode of record high temperatures in March, causing the growing season to start early and exposing new leaves to the deep freeze episode that followed. The resulting damage affected "several hundred thousand hectares", according to the French Ministry of Agriculture, which also described the event as "probably the biggest agricultural disaster at the beginning of the 21st century".
The problem is spreading
Frost damage can be seen everywhere in recent years. From apple trees in China, Hungarian peaches and coffee in Brazil, growers are frustrated by the devastating effects of these frosts.That was the case in France this year. At the beginning of April, extremely low daily minimum temperatures below -5°C were recorded in several places, which led to heavy damage to vines and fruit trees in these places. To make matters worse, the cold event occurred a week after an episode of record high temperatures in March, causing the growing season to start early and exposing new leaves to the deep freeze episode that followed. The resulting damage affected "several hundred thousand hectares", according to the French Ministry of Agriculture, which also described the event as "probably the biggest agricultural disaster at the beginning of the 21st century".
Frost in Italy
Solving the problem head on
Farmers around the world have been juggling various frost protection methods since the ancient Roman Empire. Back then, during spring freezes, growers burned piles of cut wood to heat the vineyard. Modern methods of frost protection include activities that are carried out during a freezing night to mitigate the effects of sub-zero temperatures. These methods include: heaters, wind machines, helicopters, nets, overhead sprinklers and irrigation under trees.Each method has its pros and cons. Heaters provide supplemental heat to help replace energy losses, but they are big consumers of energy and pollute the environment, plus 75% to 85% of heat is lost in the process. Windmills work well in combination with other frost protection methods, but their energy consumption is high. Helicopters can do the job, but they are limited in number and expensive to operate. Nets are certainly a more ecological solution, but their use requires considerable working time.
One method that has been shown to be effective involves sprinkler systems (used successfully as frost protection since the 1940s!). Sprinklers use significantly less energy than heaters or wind machines, so running costs are lower. The main problem with using sprinklers is that they require significant water resources.
An innovative way to overcome this challenge and guarantee precise and targeted coverage of a large area with water while significantly saving water consumption is the use of intelligent sprinklers such as Pulsar™ from Netafim. Designed for orchards and vineyards, the Pulsar™ continuously distributes water with the same pulses. Its hydraulic pulsation provides flawless low flow while using less than 50% to 70% of the water required by full coverage sprinkler systems. Add to that reduced energy costs and high durability, and you have a powerful frost mitigation tool that can reduce growers' operating costs by up to 30% compared to other systems.
The use of technology in the fight against unpredictable frosts
2019 marked the end of the warmest decade (2010–2019) on record. Its impact is undeniable; the weather is changing, sea levels are rising and weather events are becoming more extreme. As growers we have to face reality. The unpredictable and elusive phenomenon of spring frosts is here to stay. If we want to meet them face to face and protect our precious crops, we must take active measures. And while the idea of starting big fires in your orchard is hardly viable, we can and should use technology to fight back – efficiently, economically and with minimal environmental damage.
Reference :
https://www.netafim.com/en/blog/the-battle-against-spring-frost-warms-up/
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