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Climate change effects fruit farming
The list of fruits challenged by changes in the environment is long – from mangoes to grapes, bananas, pineapples, peaches, coconuts, and many more; and, of course, every type of fruit in every region where it is grown faces its own specific issues, but arguably no fruit is left untouched by the crisis. Here are a few examples.
Citrus groves
Citrus plants are especially affected by extremely high temperatures. Together with water stress at critical stages, severe heat can result in a decrease in fruit growth and size, reduced peel thickness, and pre-harvest fruit drop. Conversely, torrential rains and flooding can lead to nutrient imbalances and deficiencies, which also reduce plant growth and yields
Grids over an apple orchard in South Tirol protect the fruit against hailstorms.Apples
Apple trees too are particularly sensitive to adverse weather conditions. The German Association of the German Fruit Juice Industry (Verband der deutschen Fruchtsaft-Industrie; VdF), for instance, announced that the country is facing a 300,000 metric ton deficit in apples for the juice industry, in 2023, because four successive years of summer drought have lowered the water table up to two meters, beyond the reach of roots, thus depriving the trees of the needed moisture reserves.
Excess surface water has caused a shallow water channel eroding the soil in an intensively farmed field in eastern Germany.Cranberries
Cranberry bogs are unique micro-ecosystems that today are caught between weather extremes. While they require plenty of water, torrential rains can cause flooding and fungal infections. Heat waves, on the other hand, prevent the plants from properly cooling off, which can lead to the fruit literally cooking on the vine, a condition called scald. Just as in apple orchards, warmer weather year-round means that cranberries bud earlier, making them more vulnerable to late-frost damage.
The market
Yet even as fruit growers have increasing difficulties in maintaining yields, their produce is in demand. Juices, along with fruit drinks, fruit nectars, and fruit smoothies, are big business, with a combined global revenue of about USD 117 billion in 2023; and a market that is expected to grow annually by 3.65% (CAGR 2023-2027), as more varied juice products, such as juice mixtures and ready-made smoothies, and other non-alcoholic fruit-based drinks are entering the market.
An agrivoltaics pilot plant developed by Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems in Freiburg, in the Black Forest of Germany, and installed at a farm in the village of Heggelbach, near Lake Constance, in Germany, monitors the quality and yield of several crops cultivated underneath the solar modules. Solar modules are 5 to 8 meters above ground to allow for the unrestricted operation of farm machinery. Climate mitigations as a priority
With growing demand, but supplies at risk, mitigating measures for fighting climate change have become an overriding priority. Like many other industries, the juice industry is also working to reduce its water and energy needs, as well as its CO2 emissions and wastewater discharge. Oranges are a good example: According to the US Geological Survey, it takes 50 liters of water to grow just a single orange; and an incredible 200 liters to fill a single glass of orange juice. Thus, the focus is on improved irrigation techniques in the groves and water reuse and recycling inside the processing plant.
Growers use a range of techniques to preserve the integrity of their soils, including the planting of cover crops, crop diversification and rotation, and no-till farming. Many also employ new advanced technologies for site-specific farm management and precision agriculture, often involving the use of drone observations, satellite-retrieved data, and online farming software. In southern Spain, farmers even grow crops under plastic, called plasticulture greenhouses, to stabilize soil warmth and moisture.
Efficiency measures across the entire supply chain, of course, are also critical, from deploying new green technologies for energy, lighting, and refrigeration, to creating efficiencies in the production line and employing new modes of transportation, both in the warehouse and on the road.
Looking to the future, there is the potential of agrivoltaics, a combination of solar panels and agriculture, to keep crops warm when temperatures become too frigid. For the past 20 years, Joshua Pearce, a professor at Western University in Ontario, Canada, has been studying how agrivoltaic systems increase yields of berries, fruits, grains, and many different types of vegetables. "There's a giant race on with everybody in the world to figure out the best type of photovoltaic arrangement for a specific crop in a specific area," he says.
Sustainability depends on collaboration
The fruit industry structure is characterized by a complex chain of large multinational corporations, regional fruit juice and ingredients producers, a heterogeneous mix of suppliers, and an untold number of growers and agribusiness concerns, both large and small, each confronted with a multitude of disparate challenges and potential mitigations. Yet for all these differences, most enterprises recognize that their fates are bound together and that it is important to collaborate in the interest of sustainability.A prime example is the Sustainable Juice Initiative, developed by the Sustainable Trade Initiative (IDH), a Netherlands-based not-for-profit foundation. In 2017, under the aegis of IDH, Döhler, FrieslandCampina Riedel, Refresco, and Verbruggen Juice Trading Sustainable Products signed a global “Sustainable Juice Covenant” to strive, within the next decade, for 100 percent verified sustainable sourcing for their juices. Today, this sector-wide initiative is supported by 13 of the world's largest juice producers, blenders, and bottlers. With the help of the European Fruit Juice Association (AIJN), work is now focused on the certification/verification of supply chains, and on joint projects to address specific sustainability issues.
Also influential is the Beverage Industry Roundtable (BIER), a technical coalition focused on environmental sustainability for the entire beverage sector. Its 17 members, which include fruit juice producers, operate in 17 countries and market over 5,500 distinct brands. Together, the members have a combined annual revenue of USD 260 billion. Collectively, they support three of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), goal 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation), goal 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy), and goal 13 (Climate Action).
Outlook
Indeed, while the ravages of climate change are real and scary, there is also great optimism that the fruit juice industry, with its substantial resources focused on remedial strategies, will meet the challenges ahead.References
Anne Guiland, “Climate change could cut fruit production by almost a third, study warns,” The Telegraph, 20 December 2019
Waqar Shafqat, Summar A. Naqvi, Rizwana Maqbool, Muhammad Salman Haider, Muhammad Jafar Jaskani and Iqrar A. Khan, “Climate Change and Citrus,” in Citrus – Research, Development, Biotechnology, edited by Muhammad Sarwar Khan and Iqrar Ahmad Khan, Intech Open, 2021
Damián Balfagón, Vicent Arbona, Aurelio Gómez-Cadenas, “The future of citrus fruit: The impact of climate change on citriculture,” Mètode Science Studies Journal, núm. 12, pp. 123-129, 2022, Universitat de València, April 23, 2021
Juices-Worldwide, Statistica Market Forecast
“Fruchtsafthersteller erwarten mit 300.000 Tonnen eine kleine Streuobsternte,” Fruchtsaft.de
Tatiana Schlossberg, “Cranberry farmers in Massachusetts are battling heat waves, warmer winters, less ice,” The Washington Post, November 18, 2020
“The Italian farmers saving an ancient fruit with solar power,” BBC Future Planet, BBC.com
Harshavardhan Dinesh, Joshua M. Pearce, “The potential of agrivoltaic systems,” Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Volume S4, February 2016, Pages 299-308
