fields of San Juan are worried about the weather as the number of cold hours, when the thermometer is below 7.2 °C, is the lowest in the past 5 years. The National Institute of Agricultural Technology (INTA) is concerned that, at this rate, the fruits won't have received the necessary cold hours by the end of the season, especially the stone fruit, such as the damask, plum and peach. The vine's, which occupy the largest area in the province, would harvest at the end of the season so long as there's enough cold weather for them to eliminate the hormones that prevent them from budding.Sonia Silva, from the meteorology Service of the Agricultural Experimental Station San Juan del INTA stated that, up to June 17, there had been 246 cold hours. By the same time in 2011 there had been 343 cold hours.
"The cold season is starting later every year, winter is delayed and this indicator is another example of this behavior. Chill hours are few or many depending on the crop. The crops that bloom in August need to accumulate cold hours until then, but there are others that do it in September," said Juan Manuel Raigón, from the INTA. He added: "It has become a constant for the latter not to achieve the cold hours they require. The peach varieties are having problems to set."
The almond, for example, requires between 500 and 600 chill hours per year, peaches about 300 or 400 hours and cherries needs 900-1000 hours; meanwhile wine grapes need between 600 and 700 hours.
