By Alexandre Merlingeas
Published on
7 May 24 at 8:38
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Sunday May 5, from 3:30 p.m., Bergeracois was particularly affected by violent thunderstorms accompanied by very heavy rain and hail in some places.
In addition to material damage, falling trees on the roads, flooded cellars or power outages, vines and fruit trees were impacted. Monday May 6 and Tuesday May 7, agricultural technicians (Chamber of Agriculture, FVBD, Cave de Monbazillac) traveled the countryside to assess the extent of the damage.
“The Monbazillac appellation, where the planting density is very high, has been very affected”, explained Laurence Rival, president of the Bergerac and Duras Wine Federation (FVBD), last Monday. In Pomport, in particular, some wine growers have lost almost everything. “ There was an excess of water, between 80 and 100 millimeters in less than 10 minutes. In addition to hail, mudslides blocked the roads”noted the winemaker.
Heterogeneous damage
In a pre-assessment of this episode carried out on May 6, the FVBD indicated that the hail had fallen over a large area going from Razac-de-Saussignac in the west to Saint-Laurent-des-Vignes, as well as to the south of the commune of Bergerac and Monbazillacand around the municipalities of Mouleydier and Saint-Sauveur-de-Bergerac. In a period of half an hour to an hour, the pécharmant weather station recorded 45 mm of precipitation. A wine grower recorded up to 80 mm of water in Saint-Sauveur!
As for the damage, it ranges from 20% to 100% of the organs of the vines affected over a total area of 2,200 ha. In less severe cases, only the leaves were shredded. In many situations, impacts affected leaves, twigs that were marked or cut, and young inflorescences. Finally, in more serious cases, all vegetation has been destroyed. This extreme damage is mainly concentrated in the northwest of the commune of Pomport and to the east of Gageac-et-Rouillac.
The consequences will therefore be crop losses and a health risk in the coming weeks. Injuries caused by hail constitute entry points for cryptogamic diseases. The vineyard is at high risk of mildew.
Read in full in Réussir le Périgord from May 10, 2024
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