Blossoming of trees is not dangerous yet
The sharp fall of temperatures in an unusually hot winter raised concerns about damage to crops. Due to the hot temperature, many fruitful trees in the Ararat Valley, including the grape vines, have already blossomed.
Head of the Department of Vegetation, Forest Economy and Plant Defense at the RA Ministry of Agriculture Gagik Manucharyan denied the concerns during an interview with "A1+". According to him, the blossoming of trees is not massive.
"Trees don't blossom in their entirety and if certain flowers have bloomed and then frozen, that doesn't mean that there will not be crops. We may have loss of crops later during the cold in early spring and that is more dangerous than the current blossoming of random trees," he said, adding that the flowers that bloom now will not bloom in the spring.
Manucharyan mentioned that certain methods are being planned to protect the trees from frostbite. For instance, a Canadian Armenian suggested a substance that prolongs the blooming of trees that lasts from a week up to 10 days. "This, of course, is progress and we are all interested in that. We could conduct an experiment and if we achieve positive results, we will include that in the list of protective measures and allow its use," said Gagik Manucharyan, adding that the only fear is that the ovary and harvest will be late.
Leading researcher at the "Center for viticulture, wine-making and fruit-growing" State Non-Trade Organization Derenik Safaryan added that there should be special caution from the spring that follows hot winters like this. "If the high temperatures last until February, the cold in the spring may cause more harm. However, we can't make desperate statements and present separate phenomena as general. We are located in a region where the climate is strictly continental, where the weather is unstable and turbulent and we partially feel the effects of that climate several times."
