The high temperatures recorded in recent weeks have caused a delay in the start of the planting of Andalusian strawberries, which will take a similar acreage to that of last year, around 5,800 hectares, concentrated mainly in the province of Huelva.
At a press conference, the president of the Association of Producers and Exporters of Strawberries from Huelva (Freshuelva), Alberto Garrocho, explained that given that strawberries are a “bare root” crop, the plant may suffer considerably with high temperatures, and given this fear, the producers have decided to wait a few days to start planting. He pointed out that the task will not be delayed by much, as growers are just waiting for a slight drop in the temperatures.
As for the forecasts of the State Meteorological Agency (AEMET) about the autumn being a dry one, Garrocho said that “rain is very important at this time,” especially to reduce production costs, as without rain, growers will have to make use of surface water for irrigation, which has to be “paid for.”
“When October is rainy it is always very good for us,” he stated, hoping for this to also be the case this year.
Moreover, he talked about the request to increase the number of hired labourers at source for the harvest this campaign, and has stated that, at present, he is “waiting for the requests to arrive from several companies” in order to find out what the real needs will be.
Garrocho wanted to clarify that this labour force will only be required for the second part of the harvest, in April, May and June, and is justified by the fact that last year there was fruit that remained unharvested or was harvested later due to the lack of labourers.
In this regard, he stated that the quota of those hired at source for this campaign “will depend on the requests from associated companies” and will be higher, in any case, than last year’s, which stood at about 2,500 people.
Source: EFE
