On 12 March, heavy hailstorms caused considerable damage to soft fruit in Langkloof.
The extent of the hail damage is still being determined, but, according to Bokkie Kritzinger,
some orchards have suffered a 100% loss. Kritizinger is the chairperson of the South African Langkloof agricultural association. Langkloof is situated in the Eastern Cape.
"What we have learned from this, is that we will never again establish new orchards without netting," he says. "In those places where we did have nets set up, the hail did not penetrate. So, 100% damage was prevented on the trees that did have fruit on them. Most of our nets were, however, spanned over young trees."
"This was also a good test to see how well the draping nets would hold up. The first evaluation shows that the fruit right against the nets was damaged. However, those deeper in the trees were well-protected," explains Kritzinger.
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