"Never experienced in the last 15 years": Castle park manager fears crop failure in fruit trees

Created: 07/28/2022, 09:59 am

By: Julian Limmer

Dry soil, leaves like autumn: park manager Alexander Bauer is worried.

©Oliver Bodmer

The leaves of the fruit trees in Schleißheim Palace Park look like they do in autumn: yellow, orange and brown.

Park manager Alexander Bauer fears that the harvest will fail this year.

Munich - There are around 700 fruit trees in Schleißheim Palace Park - some of them are species that are almost extinct elsewhere, rare apple and plum varieties.

"Our historic fruit trees are a treasure that we want to preserve for posterity," says Alexander Bauer.

He fears that this treasure is in danger - the extreme heat is giving the trees a hard time this summer.

Munich: Schleissheim Castle Park is struggling with drought

"I've never seen it so pronounced in the last 15 years," says Bauer.

Not only the hot days, but also the strong wind are causing the soil to dry out particularly badly at the moment.

“Some varieties cope better with the heat, others less well.” Spring was unusually dry, which makes the situation more difficult.

The rain of the past few days has provided some relief.

"But that's a drop in the ocean."

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Just like the watering of the facility: Heavy pumps pump water directly from the castle canal, the trees are watered with fire hoses and large water trucks.

But that would make it “difficult to compensate for the drought,” explains the park manager.

Drought: 80 percent of the harvest in the castle park on the brink

In extreme cases, if it hardly ever rains, Bauer expects the consequences to be dire: 80 percent of the fruit harvest could then be threatened.

And even if it is still raining in the coming weeks: Harvest losses are to be expected.

Bauer's prognosis: "If things continue like this in the coming years, we will face further challenges."

The entire Schleissheim Palace Park is about the size of 110 football pitches.

In addition to the orchards, the complex includes countless other deciduous and coniferous trees.

The canal system, which was originally intended to give the area the flair of the Netherlands, connects Schleißheim Palace via a waterway with Dachau and Nymphenburg Palace in the state capital of Munich.

The canal served as a transport route.

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