(AGI) Rome- Polar temperatures in central and southern Italy are affecting 100 million olive trees. This Mediterranean plant needs a relatively mild climate to survive, even in the winter, and above all it needs to avoid huge temperature spikes, according to Coldiretti. The Italian farmers' association has raised the alarm on the dramatic effects of the ongoing cold snap on the country's most traditional tree, one which also represents the local Mediterranean diet. Temperatures below 10 degrees, claims Coldiretti, wreak havoc on olive trees and exponentially increase the damage to the food and farming industry, which has already reached half a billion euros along the entire supply chain.| It seems to me citrus trees have the same problem. I believe Florida growers handle the occasional cold snap with smudge pots to heat the air around each tree at need... Perhaps the olive growers should consult historical records to see what was done to protect trees during the Little Ice Age, which ended only a few short centuries ago. There are probably even beautiful etchings of picturesque peasants at the work, just as there are of the Great Frost Fairs on the Thames River during the same period. |