Posted by kathryn in Fruit and Spring

Frosts have destroyed much of Goulburn Valley’s pear and stone fruit harvest. Reports do vary, but at least half the region’s 300,000 tonnes of fruit has been wiped out. All of the apricots are gone, the pear crop is severly affected, while many smaller growers have also lost peaches, plums and nectarines.

So far the damage is estimated to be at least $70 million, although the Victorian government has decided against declaring it a natural disaster area.

The Goulburn Valley is home to Australia’s largest tinned fruit processor – SPC Ardmona – and the region produces 75% of Australia’s apricots and 85% of its pears.

Warmer weather this year had meant the fruit was more advanced than usual, which is why the frost has come at such a bad time. Cherries, apricots, peaches, nectarines, and grapes in the Warby Ranges have also been affected.

Following a similar frost in 2003 an early warning system had been implemented. Farmers have frost alarms that go off when the temperature falls below a certain level. The SMH reports on one farmer:

He had begun spraying the ground with water below his 20,000 fruit trees. It was not an easy decision to make in a drought year, with water costing $430 a megalitre.

But moist soil acts as a heat bank, helping to keep frost away, and in addition they had placed between the trees hundreds of burners filled with peach seed brickettes, firelighters and saw dust.

“We had about six of us with flame throwers ready to set them alight to keep the place a bit warmer,” Mr Costa said. “It can work down to about minus one, but we got down to minus 3.4. It was too much. We lost everything.”

It’s not yet clear what exactly this will mean for fruit prices over the next few months, although with bananas still exy , it will be a blow if stone fruit is also pricey.

On a more happy note, apparently it is looking like a fantastic mango season.

27 September, 2006