Argentina's National Institute of Agricultural Technology (INTA) has announced 110,000 metric tons (MT) of lemons would be lost from this year's crop due to frost damages, website Lagaceta.com.ar reported.

INTA Famaillá technician Guillermo Torres Leal, said the loss represented 20% of the remaining 550,000MT of lemons to be harvested in the Tucumán province.

The result means the world's largest lemon-growing province has lost around 9.2% of its expected crop this year, with a revised forecast of around 1.09 million MT.

Torres Leal said the damages were caused by not just the frosts but their duration, damaging adult plants, new shoots, seedlings, sprouts, causing fruit development problems and in some cases killing the plants, the story reported.

He said many fruits lost their fullness of tension and softened, with ruptured oil glands and stains.

"Because of the damage, there is less fruit available for export and it will be destined for an industry with lower economic value," he was quoted as saying.

The extent of the damages varied in different areas, with the northern (Burruyacu, Tafí Viejo, Cruz Alta) and southern (Río Chico, Alberdi, La Cocha) zones registering the worst effects, while there were fewer damages in the central areas of Lules, Famaillá, Monteros and Chicligasta, the story reported.

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Export harvest halt for Argentine lemons

Photo: Tucuman Citrus Association

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