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Tru-Cape’s producers are currently assessing the damage and losses caused by gale-force winds and rain over the weekend.
“We are currently doing a damage assessment,” said Roelf Pienaar, managing director of Tru-Cape Fruit Marketing, “but at the moment it seems our production areas weren’t hit as hard as the Helderberg and Stellenbosch areas.”
Apple varieties such as Pink Lady, Rosy Glow, Granny Smith and Sundowner are currently being or yet to be harvested. According to weather reports some rain and cooler weather was expected until Wednesday.
Limited damage was incurred in the Elgin Valley, where Two-A-Day producer Arno Reuvers farms on Heideland.
“Less than 5% of our fruit was blown off the trees,” Pienaar said. “It is a miracle.” Tru-Cape’s Pink Lady apples and the balance of their Granny Smith crop were hit the hardest.
“We experienced consistent wind speeds of 10 m/s (36 km/h),” Pienaar said, “but thankfully not the gusts of wind that were reported in Somerset West and Stellenbosch.” He added wind and rain damage to the fruit and orchards were minimal on his farm, Champagne, in the Greyton area.
Slight bruising can be expected, but it will be prevalent only once Tru-Cape resumes harvesting. “We had about 24 mm of rain already, with the big rain still expected this afternoon and tonight,” Pienaar said on Monday.
On the upside, rain and cold weather go hand in hand in the Western Cape.
“We need the cold for proper colour development on our Pink Lady apples,” said Pienaar. “The only negative is we’ll have to wait a few days for the orchards to dry out before we pick fruit again.”
Another Two-A-Day producer, Ben van der Merwe, from the farm Fortuin in the Vyeboom region, also welcomed the cooler weather.
“The cold weather is good for the colour of our Pink Lady and Sundowner apples. Colour development was challenging this season due to the warm, dry spell we experienced lately.”
He didn’t suffer any fruit or infrastructure damage over the weekend.
