The sun is out after days of rain and a hailstorm last Thursday afternoon which hit localized areas north of Groblersdal where the table grape season has commenced, and citrus orchards are nursing young fruit.
Limpopo is an area with a high hail factor; the storm came in quickly with no warning, growers say, and was also gone within 30 minutes. The path of the hail was limited and it fell over a small area between Groblersdal and Marble Hall, not affecting the whole region.
The chairperson of the South African Table Grape Industry Anton Viljoen says that the extent of the damage is being calculated but, he adds, for the moment it looks too small to necessitate a change to the national table grape estimate.
Citrus orchards in Groblersdal after the hailstorm last Thursday
Localised impact
FreshPlaza has spoken to a number of growers in the district, some of whom received only rain and no hail, while a farmer in the path of the hail says: “The hail was very bad on our farm and caused quite a bit of damage for us.”
Another affected grower (who did not want to be named) says: “Our area did have a hail storm, but we think it is important for the world to understand that this is exactly the reason we have hail nets over our grapes and citrus.”
Some netting sustained structural damage, but in general “the nets did their job and overall, the grapes look good. In fact,” the grape grower continues, “many farms were packing the next day."
“Farmers are very focused on quality”
“Another point to note is that with such a fast storm, a lot of the water actually flows away and does not go into the soil, so the actual water uptake of the soil was not a major concern for the grapes. Farmers in our area are very focused on quality this year – they are very aware that they need to pack healthy grapes that will arrive in good condition on the other side. With the rising costs in packing material and sea freight everyone understands the importance of having sound arrivals in our overseas markets.”
Table grape farmers in the Northern Region have had to deal with rain (and hail) for decades. Plastic over the grapes to keep them dry when it rains, and hail nets are standard practice.
Hail in Western Cape part of same system
A powerful cut-off low system, fed by tropical air from the equator, has been moving from west to east over South Africa, bringing unusual amounts of rainfall. The South African Weather Service had warned of severe weather, including disruptive showers and flooding, accompanying the weather system.
While hail in Groblersdal is not uncommon, it is very unusual for hail to fall over the Witzenberg Mountains outside Ceres and the Koo Valley outside Montagu, as it did last week.
This was a result of the same large weather system which brought about this hail episode far to the north.