Fruit growers in Australia’s Sunraysia region are surveying damage to their crops, following frosts over the early stages of this week.
Temperatures in the area plummeted below 0ofor the fourth consecutive night on Monday (6 August), prompting fears export programmes out of the region could be disrupted.
Sunraysia is a key production hub for Australian table grape and citrus exports, while commercial volumes of avocados and mangoes out of the area are also on the rise, albeit on the back of a small base.
Mourquong citrus grower Colin Nankerville said there had not been any immediate sign of significant crop damage on his orchard.
“There's not much fruit left that's in a dangerous situation,' Nankerville told the Australian Broadcasting Commission (ABC).
'We apply water to keep things moist. So far, so good, I think.”
Tony Natale, an avocado grower based in Robinvale, said the health of his crop remained a day-to-day proposition, following three significant frosts.
'We're just seeing a day or so after, the burning of the leaves,' Natale told the ABC. “They brown off and hopefully, if you can get away with the odd burnt leaf, it's not too bad. It really takes two to three days before you can really determine how many are burnt or not.”
