Egyptian producers brace for heat wave threatening crops this weekend

A sudden heat wave is happening in Egypt from Friday, April 7, until Monday, April 10, causing a rapid and intense increase in temperatures, reaching a 5-10 degrees difference, and alarming the producers of several crops.

According to Mr. Hesham Tantawy, nutrition expert and technical support & development manager at Green IAP: "The heat wave will lead to yield drops, affecting most severely the crops that are currently in the flowering phase, but it is possible to mitigate its impact."

He explains: "Since the beginning of the year, we have been facing an unstable climate, with sudden fluctuations of high and low temperatures. Today, this phenomenon is intensifying, with a large difference in temperature reaching up to 10 degrees in some locations. The whole territory is affected, and to a greater extent: Al-Minia, Upper Egypt, and Cairo. In itself, the high temperature is not the problem, but it is the sudden change that the plants can't bear."

The plants will consume a lot of carbohydrates to cope with the heat, according to Hesham, but the situation will lead to physiological problems and, therefore, an abortion of the plants and a drop in yield, especially in the case of crops currently in flowering, a stage where the plants are very sensitive to temperatures, as well as crops grown in open fields.

Given the current production schedules in Egypt, "the most affected crops are mangoes, grapes, citrus, strawberries, and other vegetables," adds Hishem.

That said: "It is entirely possible and easy to mitigate the impact of the heat wave," according to Hesham, "In these circumstances, it is important to avoid water stress and allow the plants good storage of carbohydrates. Therefore, we advise our producers to irrigate daily, or even twice a day, and spray kelp products and amino acids while reducing the amount of fertilizers."

Hesham concludes: "At GREEN IAP, we already introduced programs to our producers to overcome this wave, giving advice on irrigation and providing solutions and biostimulant products, such as kelp products and amino acids, and new technologies to relieve the plants from stress."