Potato growers had the worst night on Monday night, as the temperature dropped to -6 degrees Celsius, especially in Kokkinochoria, Andreas Karyos, spokesman for the Pancyprian Potato Growers' Coordination, told CNA.
Referring to the onslaught of the Coral storm, he said that they have never experienced such low temperatures, as the lowest in the region so far was around 3 degrees Celsius. He added that "even the coastal areas, which are very difficult to be affected by frost, were affected by the very low temperatures last night. In addition to the Famagusta district, western Nicosia was also affected last night, given that until Sunday night there was no damage to the potato plantations."
As Mr. Karyos said, "the damage caused to the potato plantations by last night's frost will be considerable, however we will see their extent later with composure, when the specific wave of bad weather that is affecting Cyprus passes."
Responding to a relevant question, Mr. Karyos said that "the potatoes have not yet sprouted in approximately 30% of the crops. The damage from the frost affected the early and mid-early crops, which have suffered great damage but not total damage," while noting that "this damage concerns both Kokkinochoria, Nicosia and Paphos."
He also said that officials from the Ministry of Agriculture have already started visiting plantations in all provinces in order to get an idea of the damage. "We hope that the next few nights will not bring frost, but I am very afraid that there will be and farmers will have to sprinkle water on their plantations again to prevent them from being destroyed," he concluded.
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