Frost Alert Service starts on Monday (5) in Paraná

The 5st edition of Alerta Geada (Frost Alert) begins next Monday, May 31th. This service operates from May to September in Paraná with the aim of warning rural producers in advance about the risk of damage to crops caused by the cold. The initiative is from the Paraná Rural Development Institute (IDR-Paraná) and the Paraná Environmental Monitoring and Technology System (Simepar). 

Originally created to protect newly planted coffee plantations, Alerta Geada now serves several agricultural activities — poultry farming, pig farming, horticulture and forestry, for example — and also benefits other sectors of the economy, such as tourism, commerce, the financial market and civil construction, explains meteorologist Ângela Costa, from IDR-Paraná.

During the service, researchers publish daily bulletins with information on weather conditions and the evolution of polar air masses in the State.

Guidelines

Coffee plantations: In crops that are 6 to 24 months old, it is recommended to pile soil on the trunk up to the first pair of leaves or branches, protecting the vegetative buds against possible frost. This procedure should be done in May and continued until mid-September.

For seedlings that are up to six months old in the field, it is best to cover them completely with soil or straw whenever frost is expected. In nurseries, protection is provided with two to three layers of plastic or heating. Measures should be taken in accordance with warning notices and undone immediately after the risk has ended.

Autumn/Winter: According to Ângela Costa, the entry of polar air masses into the state of Paraná tends to intensify from May onwards, alternating cold days with periods of milder temperatures. Dry spells, fog and frost are expected — typical conditions of the season — with varying intensity between regions. The El Niño phenomenon remains in a neutral phase.

“Climate models indicate that rainfall and temperatures should remain close to the historical average for the state,” says the meteorologist.

Methodology: Simepar performs daily analysis and monitoring of meteorological phenomena. “With the support of weather forecast models, the Simepar team prepares forecasts on the evolution of intense air masses of polar origin, which favor the occurrence of frost in Paraná, up to five days in advance”, explains Reinaldo Kneib, meteorologist at Simepar. For the week in which the service begins operating, the weather forecast does not indicate the formation of frost in Paraná.