Fruit growers spray crops with water to keep frost at bay

Fruit growers in the Netherlands were forced to spray water on their crops on Monday night in an effort to head off the risk of frost damage and temperatures fell below freezing.

The main fruit growing region of the Betuwe, the temperature dropped to -2 Celsius at tree height in places. Spraying the blossom with water gives the flowers a protective layer of ice which limits the damage.

News agency ANP says many growers were up all night protecting their crops. Outdoor heaters are another way of keeping the killer frost at bay.

The lowest temperature recorded on Monday night was in Twente, when it hit -9.7 Celsius at a height of 10 centimetres above the ground.

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