The fruit campaign in Térmens, in La Noguera, points to a sharp drop in production due to poor fruit set, a situation that Unió de Pagesos already considers a given in a large part of the farms.
The problem comes after several campaigns in which the poor harvest had been linked to drought and heat, but the repetition of the same pattern has led the union to admit that the main cause remains unidentified. This uncertainty also coincides with the spread of fire blight in several regions.
Unió de Pagesos asked to investigate why very few fruits have formed
The union announced this Friday that very few fruits have formed in the plantations and called for an investigation to clarify what is going wrong with the fruit set. The forecast, based on the situation detected in Térmens, is a harvest well below average.
In parallel, Unió de Pagesos maintains that the impact does not affect all crops equally and identifies pears as the most affected production. That is why it calls for a specific reconversion plan for these plantations.
Fire blight spreads between regions and the union calls for more phytosanitary products
Added to this drop in production is the concern about the spread of fire blight, a disease that affects fruit trees and ornamental shrubs. Unió de Pagesos warns that its presence is spreading between regions.
The union is calling for more phytosanitary products to curb the disease before it gains more ground in the farms. The request comes at a time when producers are experiencing several campaigns with harvest problems without a main cause yet clarified.
Among the requests made this Friday, Unió de Pagesos calls for a reconversion plan for pear plantations, which it identifies as the most affected by poor fruit set.