Half of the chestnuts had to be thrown away in Spain

Edu Mongil The chestnut campaign is going to be very complicated this year for Spanish producers. The chestnut-growing areas of the country expect a reduction in the useful harvest of between 80% and 20%, which is explained by the lack of rain during the year and the proliferation of fungal pests. One of the most affected territories is the Bierzo region. The director of the Chestnut Table in the area, Pablo Linares, assures that half of the production will be lost due to the effects of the gnomoniopsis fungus, which has caused real havoc this year. Since 2018, the wasp has been a constant threat to chestnut trees, something that has caused the trees to become too weak and unable to resist the added problem of the appearance of the fungus. According to Linares, this and not the climate has been the main reason for Bercia's poor expectations, since the harvest would be within the normal range in number of kilos. “Producers have had to throw away up to 50% of the chestnuts they have ...