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ARCHIVED - Heavy rain saves condemned Alicante crops
Farmers in Alicante province have hailed the recent record downpour as a "blessing"
Spain faced the driest start to the year since 2000 and just two weeks ago the country's reservoirs depleted to almost half the maximum capacity on average, with experts warning the predicted rainfall with the arrival of a DANA storm at the end of February would do little to prevent an emergency drought situation.
And dwindling reserves prompted a warning from The Segura Hydrographic Confederation (CHS) that irrigation to farmland may have to be cut by up to a quarter if the dry spell continued.
But two weeks on, the picture is very different in Alicante province, at least for the moment.
Between March 4 and 7, between 20 and 100 litres of rain fell in the interior and on the coast of Alicante, and whilst some areas experienced flooding, ASAJA Alicante (Association of Young Farmers) has hailed the downpour "miraculous" and "a blessing".
According to ASAJA, the rain has "given oxygen to the countryside" during a period of drought and an unprecedented rise in prices, salvaging "condemned crops" and enabling irrigators to save 15% of annual irrigation in the Vega Baja and other Alicante regions.
"The orchards in the south have received an average of 60 litres in the last few days. It is a blessing because it's very good for finishing off the winter vegetables and allows the artichoke, which has a hard time getting to its second peak, to finish better," explained President of ASAJA Alicante, José Vicente Andreu from Orihuela.
"Rainwater is fabulous for broccoli and celery, and at the same time, it washes the trees, cleans away pests and makes flowering more intense because the soil is moist," he added.
The rains have brought around 20 cubic hectometres of water to the orchards in the Vega Baja area, a volume equivalent to a complete irrigation and 15% of the water for the year.
Elsewhere in Alicante province, the rain has restored the viability of muscatel grape vines in the Marina Alta and increased the size of loquats, pomegranates and grapes in the Marina Baixa and Elche.
Meanwhile, in Alcoy and Alicante comarca, the downpour has extended the life of a cereal crop "that has been severely compromised by the drought", according to ASAJA.
Image: Archive
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