AMMAN
— The
Ministry of Agriculture urged farmers to take preventive measures to
reduce the effect of frost on their produce, according to a statement released
on Sunday.
اضافة اعلان
Frost
could be detrimental to both crops and livestock, the ministry warned, as the
Jordan Meteorological Department warned citizens that some parts of the Kingdom
might witness frost formation and freezing temperatures during late-night
hours.
Assistant
secretary-general for Agricultural Extension at the Ministry of Agriculture,
Baker Balawneh, told
Jordan News “we
need to be aware of the impact of frost on crops, and on certain livestock. In terms
of plants, I can inform you that certain fruit trees in places of high altitude
in Amman and the Balqa Governorate, like olive and apple trees, can survive the
negative impact of some frost waves.”
However,
he warned that “while some trees in the northern parts of the Jordan Valley,
like palm trees and citrus can survive when temperature drops to -1 and -2
degrees Celsius, but are highly vulnerable to extreme frost waves that reach
nearly -10 degrees Celsius. Agricultural produce particularly vulnerable to
frost are bananas.”
As
such, “the ministry advises farmers to cover bananas in cotton fabric, and to
irrigate their banana trees after midnight, since these measures can help
minimize the impact of moderate frost waves. But I should emphasize that such
actions are not guaranteed to be helpful during extreme temperature drops.
Dealing with such extreme conditions is difficult globally. Some recommend
protecting crops through covered systems that have a specific modifiable
temperature, but such measures can be expensive when done on a large scale”.
According
to the ministry, so far there have been no major complaints from farmers about
damage to their crops as a result of weather conditions.
Balawneh
advised farmers to keep greenhouses closed in the afternoons, to maintain the
appropriate temperature conditions for the plants inside, as well as to irrigate
plants after midnight, whether in greenhouses or uncovered.
When
it comes to beehives, they could be protected by covering them with canvas,
which would prevent cold air or rainfall from harming them.
The
ministry also recommended covering livestock sheds with plastic, to preserve
temperature levels.
Jordanian
farmer Younes Flahat, from the governorate of Madaba, who is member of a
committee assessing risks in agriculture, told
Jordan News that farmers have been heeding the ministry warnings about
potential frost formation, and that he will be visiting numerous farms in
Madaba, in the coming two days, to raise awareness about the risk of frost
among farmers.
“Based
on my experience, frost usually forms after 2am; in extreme cases, this can
happen earlier. We will be in close contact with agriculture officials in
Madaba in the coming days, to determine if any actions are needed to tackle the
issue of harm to the crops caused by frost.”
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