76- Bad weather -7- The lack of light

BAD WEATHER - THE LACK OF LIGHT

This is a common situation in the spring that is not necessarily rain.

The lack of light is just due to a low cloud ceiling, these days without sun, either generally without rain, of undefined weather. It's not good weather, but it's not really bad weather.

Temperatures are usually rather sweet, without night coolness or daytime heat stroke.

It can be a bit depressing. It is possible that I tell you this, because I live in a sunny area, where clouds and rain often seem incongruous.

The plant has a slower photosynthesis. In fact, depending on the period in which this lack of light occurs, the effects are different. Regarding me, and this year, it happened right on the ripening period of the fruits of the earliest varieties.

This slow photosynthesis does not allow the plant to ensure everything, both its own needs and the needs of the fruit.

Besides, if you look at the tree, you will usually see it yellowish, slightly chlorotic. One might think that this is an iron deficiency. But this symptom disappears after a few days of sunshine.

This bad-defined weather, characterized by the lack of light, in ripening period, can cause various problems:

The lack of sugar and aromas, so a tasteless, disappointing fruit,

The lack of color, so the loss of visual appeal (so important for sale https://culturagriculture.blogspot.com.es/2015/12/61-quality-2-appearance.html ), often accompanied by a great challenge for the farmer and the picker to select on the tree, all fruits that must be collected, and let those who have to wait.

Susceptibility to fungal diseases, so large skin defects, and increased risk of rot in conservation.

Accelerated and premature maturity of fruits, just a few days before the date, unattractive, with an imperfect form, and with a flesh that does not reach its ideal texture.

In fact the tree, which "knows" that it cannot run out the task if the sun does not come back quickly, anticipates ripening to get rid of fruit. It is a measure of survival, while the plant knows that the seed is sufficiently mature, for the continuation of the species is ensured.

However, the fruit should not reach full maturation? Is the purpose of the plant is not to reach the ripening fruit?

Basically, what is a fruit? That's another issue I will give you my opinion in a future article.

A few days after sun is back, gradually everything returns to normal. In fact what makes the quality of fruit, flavors, sugar, texture, juiciness, crisp, is acquired in the last days before physiological maturity. Thus the improvement of weather, results after a few days in a clear quality improvement.

Similarly, a degradation of the weather results in a few days in a degradation of quality.

But those days of bad weather, which will ultimately had little impact on the tree, will have serious economic consequences for the farmer whose harvest will not live up to his expectations and especially his trade commitments. Sale prices will suffer, and the fruit classification results too.

In this series, which is far from over, I just want you to record one thing:

Agriculture is a feed mill and open pit raw materials, without roof (except the greenhouses, of course), in which the unexpected are numerous and regular.

Ensure standardized quality in these conditions is extremely difficult.

The farmer does everything possible, for its product meet the standards, and set increasingly by supermarkets, on criteria that have nothing to do with the agricultural requirements.

Marketing and standardization require farmer’s work that goes against the very nature of agriculture.

You, consumers are the only ones that can evolve the food market to a little more consistency.

In my article "Food cosmetics" https://culturagriculture.blogspot.com.es/2015/01/37-food-cosmetics.html , I told you that 50% of pre-harvest pesticides are applied for cosmetics purposes.

Is it tolerable?

The farmer has no choice, if he wants to get economical results, than presenting a product that meets the requirements of its customers, although they have generally quite little to do with the consumer expectations on the one hand, and the imperatives of agriculture on the other hand.