“The periods of extremely high temperatures this summer haven’t had a large impact on this year’s agricultural production. Plants are withering, but they are not drying up. There are also sunburns on fruits and garden crops,” says Miran Naglič from the Chamber of Agriculture and Forestry of Slovenia.

The damage is not that big if the plants are well taken care of. Local showers still enable the active growth of plants. In July, hail caused some damage in the Prekmurje and Gorenjsko regions, and partly in the Dolenjska region. Big oscillations in temperatures and water supply foster a decreased nutrient absorption in garden crops. The consequences of that are the black edges on salads and cabbage. “It’s only a technological flaw, which negatively influences the product’s price on the market,” explains Naglič.

Cereal yields could be for a fifth lower than average due to the drought during their growth period. For the corn, which is still growing, the current estimated loss ranges between 10 and 15 %. More weeds than usual can be found on some pumpkins and garden crop, as weed killers are also less effective in droughts.

“This year we’ve had bigger problems with wasps, hornets and other insects, even with birds, which eat and destroy the produce, mainly wine and fruit,” adds Naglič.

In Slovenia 7500 hectares of land are irrigated, mostly garden and fruit crops. So, taking into account this year’s weather conditions, has irrigation contributed to a better yield? “Without the irrigation systems we would have a catastrophe. With the help of the irrigation system we practically have a normal crop yield, which is somewhat lower though, due to the extreme heat,” stresses Marina Pintar from the Biotechnical Faculty.

This year’s harvest is currently estimated as fairly good, even very good in fruit and wine production. And it will remain that way as long as there is no hail.