Frosts announced in recent weeks in Tucuman were of singular intensity and periodicity. There hadn't been such a phenomenon in recent decades. They started late June and continued uninterrupted until now, with temperatures below zero from 21:00 hrs until 11:00 hrs of the following day where it began to raise slightly the daytime temperature and in some places anti-frost systems were operating until 15:00 hrs in the afternoon to thaw the plants.
The extraordinary thing about this frosts were its continued in daily low temperatures reruns long lasting in some places where they reached values near -2 ° C and -6 ° C. The chart below details in below mentioned localities in different parts of the Province of Tucuman the intensities and duration of low temperatures, provided by EEAOC meteorological stations.
|
LOCATION |
DATE |
INTENSITY(°C) |
DURATION(hrs) |
|
LULES |
27/06/2011 |
-0,1 |
00:45 |
|
SANTA ANA |
27/06/2011 |
-2,6 |
06:45 |
|
28/06/2011 |
-1,4 |
06:15 |
|
|
29/06/2011 |
-1,3 |
03:30 |
|
|
30/06/2011 |
-0,1 |
 |
|
|
CASAS VIEJAS |
26-27/06/2011 |
-3,8 |
08:00 |
|
28/06/2011 |
-2,8 |
05:15 |
|
|
29/06/2011 |
-2 |
05:00 |
|
|
MONTE TORO |
27/06/2011 |
-3 |
06:45 |
|
28/06/2011 |
-2,7 |
07:00 |
|
|
29/06/2011 |
-2 |
04:15 |
|
|
LEALES |
28/06/2011 |
-1,8 |
05:40 |
|
29/06/2011 |
-2,4 |
06:40 |
|
|
FAMAILLA |
01/07/2011 |
-1,1 |
01:00 |
|
02/07/2011 |
-3,5 |
09:30 |
|
|
03/07/2011 |
-1,4 |
05:00 |
|
|
04/07/2011 |
-1,2 |
06:00 |
|
|
06/07/2011 |
-0,6 |
03:00 |
Regarding blueberry crop, damage was minor considering the phenological stage of the crop that is detailed below in a table only the dominant bud stage, flowering and fruit set.
However due to the low temperature recorded in spite of the frost control, damage was detected in some farms plots with water control to a lesser degree. On farms where frost was not controlled fruit damage was complete, although this volume is not even 1% of the estimated total.
.
|
VARIETY |
Bud B3/B4 (%) |
Floral FL1/FL2(%) |
early green fruit(%) |
|
Misty |
40 |
50 |
5 |
|
Emerald |
10 |
80 |
10 |
|
Jewel |
70 |
20 |
0 |
|
Milenia |
50 |
50 |
15 |
|
O´Neal |
60 |
20 |
0 |
Regarding the lemon crop, the damage was between 20 and 60% according to the study area. Lemon exposed to the outside on the tree was the most damaged compared to the lemon that is embedded in the tree and covered with foliage. Anyway, it is estimated around 150,000 to 180,000 lesser tons of lemons due to frost.
In regard to sugarcane, it is endangered the continuity of sugar cane plantations forecasted  for the following year due to problems in lots planted seed canes.
Forecasts for the next 15 days are:
Temperatures rising up to the 20th of this month, when a cold front is expected to enter the NOA area (Tucuman) staying until the beginning of August. Frosts of varying intensity are expected in East Tucuman area. Data released from Accu Weather and EEAOC
Source: Argentinean Blueberry Committee