Who wouldn't be delighted to witness their fruit trees blooming before their time, a sign that good weather has returned?
But seeing his peach trees in bloom on February 19, compared to the usual March 15, Marc Fauriel lost his smile.
The fear of this arborist who farms 100 ha of cherry, peach, apricot and pear trees in the Drôme?
A severe cold snap next month.
“Today, we are more or less equipped against the risk of spring frost
(in April)
but not against the risk of black frost, in March, when the entire air mass is cold.
The limit for trees in bud is -3°C or -4°C, but for trees in flower, a small -1°C is a disaster,” sighs the arboriculturist from Loriol-sur. -Drôme (Drôme)
.
“As usual, we would have preferred that winter last a little longer and that will be synonymous with long stress for all of us,” confirms his colleague Bruno Darnaud, one of whose varieties of apricot trees is already in production. 70% in flower.
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