“For some, a year’s work was destroyed in one week of rains,” said British Growers chief executive Jack Ward.
Crops in Lincolnshire became waterlogged after being deluged with up to six inches (152mm) of rain in one week in June.
The ensuing shortage of cauliflowers, cabbages and broccoli could extend to Brussels sprouts at Christmas.
The cauliflower shortage was likely to continue until early September, said Ward.
“The rain also affected a lot of young plants so there are likely to be problems into winter across the board with brassicas,” said Ward. (Brassica is a genus of plants in the mustard family. The members of the genus are informally known as cruciferous vegetables.)
The supply situation has been made more difficult by extreme temperatures in Europe, which would normally make up any shortfall in the the UK. (Not sure what they mean by “extreme temperatures in Europe.” Do they mean extreme cold? Extreme warmth? Or both?)
Mr Ward said the amount of rain in Lincolnshire in June was “unprecedented,” but said producers were seeing an increase in exceptional weather conditions which did not make for ideal growing conditions.
Last year they experienced the Beast from the East storm followed by a record dry spell and extreme temperatures. (Beginning on 22 Feb 2018, the UK was affected by a cold wave, dubbed the Beast from the East, which brought widespread unusually low temperatures and heavy snowfall to large areas.)
This year started with a dry winter and an early spring but then moved into a period of record rainfall and low light levels followed by record breaking temperatures.
Thanks to Laurel for this link
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August 18, 2019 at 03:02PM
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