French farmers are fighting to prevent frost damage to vineyards and orchard trees in several regions of the country.
To do so, they burn candles across the vineyards and spray water to create a shell of ice around the buds.
A winegrower burns a bale of straw in the vineyards to protect them from frost on April 7, 2021 as the sun rises at the heart of the Vouvray vineyard in Touraine, FranceGuillaume Souvant/AFP
Winegrowers from the Daniel-Etienne Defaix wine estate light anti-frost candles in their vineyard near Chablis, Burgundy. April 7, 2021Jeff Pachoud/AFP
An aerial view of smoke rising from fires lit in the vineyards to protect them from frost at the heart of the Vouvray vineyard in Touraine, FranceGuillaume Souvant/AFP
A winegrower burns a bale of straw in the vineyards to protect them from frost as the sun rises at the heart of the Vouvray vineyard in Touraine, France. April 7, 2021Guillaume Souvant/AFP
Water is sprayed in the early morning in the Chablis vineyards, near Chablis, Burgundy, France. April 7, 2021Jeff Pachoud/AFP
But these efforts to save the harvest are often not enough and a the large part of the crops are affected.
According to the Council of Bordeaux Wines it is already certain that this spring frost will severely impact the volume of the 2021 wine harvest.
“Peaches, nectarines, apricots will be rare on the shelves this year,” said Daniel Sauvaitre, president of the national association of apples and pears. “We just need to know now if there are enough flowers that are still green to make a harvest,” he told AFP.
Anti-frost candles burn to protect trees from frost in an orchard as temperatures are expected to fall bellow zero degrees celsius in the next few days in Westhoffen, FranceApril 6, 2021. Frederick Florin/AFP
Anti-frost candles burn to protect trees from frost in an orchard as temperatures are expected to fall bellow zero degrees celsius in Westhoffen, eastern France.April 6, 2021. Frederick Florin/AFP
“A couple of days are needed to measure precisely the extent of the damage,” agriculture minister Julien Denormandie said on Thursday.
