Prolonged rainy weather has impaired the quality of apples in Shandong, leaving medium and low-quality apples facing the test of low prices.
Since the beginning of October, affected by the abnormally northward-shifted subtropical high and the continuous confrontation between warm and cold air masses, Shandong Province has experienced more than ten consecutive days of autumn rainy weather, which has adversely affected the quality and prices of local apples.
Statistics from the Shandong Provincial Climate Center show that this rainfall event has broken the records for the same period in previous years. The average precipitation across the province in the first ten days of October reached 110.6 millimeters, an increase of 896.4% compared with the same period in normal years, making it the highest on record for the same period since 1951.
Shandong is one of China's major apple-producing regions, and October is a critical period for apples to be unbagged and colored. The prolonged rainy weather has made it difficult for apples to develop color timely and evenly after being unbagged. Some fruits have swelled and cracked due to excessive water absorption, increasing the risk of fruit decay and mildew. The soil in some orchards has become overly wet; if not properly managed, it may even lead to root rot of apple trees, potentially affecting production next year.
Although some farmers took measures such as improving drainage and laying reflective films during the rainfall, and used intervals between rains to assist apple coloring, the long duration of the rainy weather has caused water cracks on some fruits, and the overall fruit coloring effect and sugar content have fallen short of expectations.
According to monitoring data from the production areas, the overall output is expected to decrease by about 20% this year. Insiders in the industry pointed out that the quality of Shandong apples has been significantly affected by the climate this year, and the output of medium and low-quality fruits in the production areas has increased. With the start of harvesting in recent days, the market for inferior fruits is expected to fall into low-price competition, and the price gap between high-quality and inferior fruits may further widen.
Although the weather has affected the quality of apples this year, post-rain management remains crucial. Relevant local authorities in the production areas immediately launched pest and disease control work after the rain to prevent diseases in apple trees.
At present, Shandong's production areas have entered the harvesting period. Experts suggest that fruit farmers and production bases should carry out fruit grading and storage management simultaneously during the harvesting process. After the completion of harvesting, scientific fertilization should be carried out immediately according to the differences of plots to help apple trees recover and lay a solid foundation for high-quality fruits in the next season.
