The drought we are experiencing this summer is having an impact on our crops. You may have noticed it in your gardens, the fruits are there in advance and they are already starting to fall from the trees. In Dalhem, in the province of Liège, a 10-hectare fruit farm had to start its harvest earlier this year, whereas it usually only starts around September 5. “We had to start the conference pear harvest on August 22. And we mixed in a lot of apple varieties that were mid-season at the same time. They, too, are much more hasty”explains Pierre-Marie Laduron, arborist. “It really disrupts the planning, because with the multitudes of varieties I have, I have to be in pears and in a lot of varieties of apples at the same time, which means that in terms of managing the teams, it’s not is not always easy”he adds.
In terms of yield, this fruit farm generally averages 140 to 150 tonnes of pears per hectare per year. This year it’s a little different: “In terms of pears, we are on half a harvest compared to a normal year. Plots have been impacted by the drought. We are at 20-25% of a normal harvest and it is not yet in the fridge. , this one. So we’re still going to wait”develops the arborist.
Same observation in the gardens
In individuals, the situation is the same. Those who own fruit trees have been surprised by the early maturity of their apples and pears.
To avoid waste, it is possible to go to a press and thus transform the fruit into a 100% natural juice. Julian Atteranius, market gardener at “Vent de Terre” in Condroz, explains how it works: “We have two types of press, one of 270 kg and one of 400 kg. They are pneumatic presses. We will first come and crush the apples, which we will put in the press. In the middle, there is a air chamber which will be inflated by compressed air. It will come to press all the apples once morest a cure, which will be filtered by a small cheesecloth. We will bring out the almost raw juice, which will be pumped back to the bottling machine. We bottle, cap and then pass through a bain-marie to pasteurize the apples.”
Other individuals also decide to be generous by distributing the fruits around them. “Otherwise, we can make a lot of stuff: syrup, compote…”notes Eddy Daniel in Horion-Hozémont, in the Liège region.
