Observations on the Effects of the Hail on Some Apple Varieties under the Conditions of 2021

The research was carried out on 3 apple varieties, namely Golden delicious, Jonathan and Starkrimson, grown in the N-E area of Romania, within the Research Station for fruit growing Iasi, on Fălticeni development center. The plantation was established in 1990, being in 31 since planting. The trees are grafted on the MM106 rootstock, with a planting distance of 4 meters between rows and 2.5 meters between trees, with a density of 1000 trees/ha. During the agricultural year 2021, hail was observed as an extreme climatic phenomenon, recorded in June, July and August, when the trees were in the phenological stage BBCH 71-74, BBCH 75, BBCH 77 and BBCH 79. Extreme phenomena were accompanied by heavy rains and storms that affected both the quality and quantity of fruit production. The highest degree of damage was recorded in the Golden delicious variety in all four hail falls, with a percentage between 5% and 67%. Therefore, the fruit production was affected, their quality being impaired and not being commercialized as high quality fruit, for fresh consumption, but only industrialized.