Effect of late spring frost event on nutrition aspects of a sour cherry orchard in East Hungary

Climatic anomalies are significant hazards to many horticultural and viticultural regions all over the word. As the VAHAVA report stated the average of global temperature is rising and that the distribution of precipitation in time and space is undergoing a dramatic change in Hungary as well. The frequency of frost events and their damage is continuously increasing. Despite of this the Hungarian growers have a very little information about the effects of climatic change (Nagyné et al., 2010, 2011). It is very hard task to estimate the fruit failure which follows from climatic extremes. But everybody agrees that the rate of it is growing continuously year by year. For example, in Hungary, in 2007 the estimated fruit failure caused 100 billion HUF (4 billion EURO) deficiencies for the fruit growing sector (Soltész et al., 2008). Effects of extreme climatic conditions (frost in May, drought in summer) pointed out that the fruit failure reached 100%. So, the frequency of unexpected climatic events and their growing rate are resulting more and more problems for fruit growers all over world. Nowadays, we have to live together with these problems and have to correct the tested fruit growing technologies to these events as influential factors. Among climatic anomalies, the frost is a prevalent hazard that can be responsible for yield losses and serious damage to orchard trees. The resistance to frost damage may be associated with the nutritional status of plant (Childers, 1954; Faust, 1989; Nagy et al., 2010). In temperate climates, damage on deciduous fruit trees occurs in buds, flowers and developing fruits after the completion of dormancy and these losses due to frost in the spring are usually greater than losses due to low winter temperatures (Bramlage, 1993; Rodrigo, 2000). An understanding and ability to minimise the risk of fruit loss or damage is fundamental to managing a profitable enterprise. Damage not only puts at risk the current season’s crop, but also because of the perennial nature of fruits and grapevines, can influence the productivity of fruits and vines for several seasons in the future. Earlier, when developing a fruit orchard, three factors should be taken into consideration: “Location, Location, Location”. Nowadays this approach is not enough to realize qualified fruit growing, because climatic anomalies occur there where their appearance were not characteristic earlier. Change of climatic conditions cause new tasks for today’s fruit growers and scientists as well. Urgent task of the Effect of late spring frost event on nutrition aspects of a sour cherry orchard in East Hungary