Frost damage devastates early fruit orchards in northern regions
A cold wave and frosts have recently devastated early fruit orchards across several regions of the country, with farmers in the north witnessing the damage to apricot, plum, and cherry trees that had just bloomed.
Temperatures dropped below -7°C in some areas, critically affecting trees in full bloom.
Oxana and Mihai Corovlean from the village of Zastînca in Soroca manage 12 hectares of orchards, including cherries, apricots, and plums. Now, the farmers watch helplessly as months of work have been ruined in just a few days by the cold.
They spent the nights in the orchard, trying every traditional method to protect the crops, but their efforts were in vain. “We tried everything to save them. We made fires, raked the leaves, and used both scissors and an axe to create smoke and fire, placing oil drums in the orchard. We tried every possible method, but unfortunately, we couldn’t save them,” says farmer Oxana Corovlean.
“The apricot trees are 100 percent affected, that’s what I believe after observing them. As for the cherries, we’ll know more after they bloom. Then we’ll see when the fruit forms. It isn’t formed yet, but it’s frozen, and the buds are black. The same issue with the plums, and the cherries are also completely affected,” says farmer Mihai Corovlean.
Meteorologists say that late spring frosts have become increasingly frequent in recent years due to climate instability. For farmers, however, these changes mean growing losses. Therefore, they have submitted claims for compensation.
“These individuals should be assisted because they took every measure to protect their crops from the frost. They lit bonfires with hay and sawdust, but unfortunately, the apricot trees were affected,” says Valeriu Covalciuc, mayor of Zastînca.
The frosts affected not only the fruit trees but also the rapeseed crops. Farmers shared images of frozen rapeseed fields: “Everything is frozen. May God help them recover, but I’m not hopeful.”
It should be noted that the Ministry of Agriculture recently announced two meetings scheduled for April 17th with representatives of the county agricultural directorates, and one more with industry associations to analyze the damage caused by the frosts last week.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
