This year, Czech hop growers are forecasting a nearly 25% decrease in hop yields compared with the long-term average. A lower content of alpha acids, which determine the quality of the raw material, is also expected. The chairman of the board of the Hop Growers’ Union of the Czech Republic, Jiří Smetana, and Agriculture Minister Martin Šebestian told journalists in Obora-u-Loun during a visit to hop-growing farms during the harvest, UNN reports, citing Radio Prague.
Before the harvest began, farmers had forecast a 20% drop in crop volumes. The prolonged drought, lack of moisture and high temperatures had a negative impact on the harvest. At the same time, only a quarter of all hop-growing plantations in the Czech Republic are equipped with irrigation systems.
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According to Smetana, the level of alpha acids in hops depends primarily on weather conditions: "They form directly in the hop cone, and it is practically impossible to influence this process. The only way to increase the content of these substances and, most importantly, yields is through artificial irrigation. Businesses that had sufficient technical capabilities and water reserves are, this year, if not in an ideal position, then at least in a more advantageous one compared with others."
Artificial irrigation systems have been installed on approximately a quarter of the country’s hop-growing plantations.
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