Frost and cold threaten potatoes, fruits and vegetables

The cold nights have affected the cultivation of fruits and berries, including strawberries, in parts of the country, says Marcus Söderlind, chairman of LRF Trädgård.

- If you have flowering strawberries or fruit trees, the flower can not tolerate minus degrees when it is fully eradicated, he says and continues:

- The worst time for such low temperatures is now in May. The warm time around Easter drove the bud spread. It's a bad combination when it first comes to a warm period, and then it gets cold at this critical stage, he says.

The minus degrees during the nights in northwestern Skåne have caused frost damage to the apple tree flowers, says Henrik Stridh, CEO of Äppelriket, for SVT Skåne.

Outside Lidköping, asparagus grower Mia Jonsson fires with straw bales near the asparagus fields. This is so that the smoke will provide protection against the cold when it gets minus degrees, something that SVT West reported on.

The cold nights in recent times have also caused damage and had consequences for the fresh potato cultivation.

For many, the fresh potato is an important detail during the midsummer celebration. However, it is difficult to know at present what the situation will look like during midsummer, according to Anders Andersson, chairman of the Potato growers.

- It depends entirely on the weather in the future. We can't overlook the damage from the frost yet, he says.

Potato growers such as ATL, Agriculture's business newspaper, have talked to fears, however, that there may be a shortage of fresh potatoes until midsummer.

Even before the cold nights, there were concerns among growers who depended on guest workers from abroad, as the corona crisis put spikes in the wheel for travel. This is especially true of the carriers.

- When all borders were first closed, it looked awkward. Since then, the restrictions have been released in different countries. But we still haven't got all the guest workers needed here. There is a great deal of uncertainty, says Marcus Söderlind.