Storm Damages Chestnut Groves in Alto Garda, Threatening Future Yields

The storm that struck at the very end of summer over Alto Garda during the night between Wednesday and Thursday caused significant damage even in the sector known as minor agriculture: the extremely powerful gusts of wind severely impacted the chestnut groves in the typical production area of Trentino chestnuts, located between the towns of Braila, Be, Carobbi, and Troiana in the northern part of the arcense territory, at altitudes between 450 and 700 meters, on the northwestern slopes of Monte Stivo, where some of the major producers are situated.

Effects on the tree heritage

The most beautiful branches of the ancient trees — from which the first fruits of a season that was expected to be excellent were anticipated in just a couple of weeks — heavily laden with an extraordinary load of still-encased fruits in their ‘spines’ and therefore extremely fragile, could not withstand the assault of the strong gusts and broke: causing property owners not only to lose the harvest of the current year but also the future seasons’ yields.

Impact on investments and future prospects

The damage is even greater because the chestnut trees, which had been subjected in recent years to radical pruning interventions stimulated by the province’s extraordinary incentives plan for the sector, had reshaped their canopies into imposing forms and were starting to see expected increases in production to compensate for the expenses incurred.

In addition to the losses from the unharvested crop, many will also face costs to restore the plants to a condition where they can survive for now and resume production in a few years.