Farmers are grappling with unprecedented heat, as record-breaking temperatures devastate harvests—with leafy vegetables wilting and root crops such as cassava and potatoes yielding far less than expected.
Senior agriculture assistant Anthony Philips said the extreme heat experienced in 2024—now officially confirmed as the hottest year on record in the Caribbean—had a direct impact on production at the Ministry of Agriculture’s Graeme Hall Station, where several varieties of crops are cultivated for research and observation.
“With crops like lettuce and Chinese cabbage, when outside is extremely hot and you don’t have overhead irrigation to cool the plants during the day, they tend to wilt and burn,” he shared, noting that the extent of the heat can force the vegetables to a “permanent wilting point”, making them unmarketable.
Philips said cassava, a root crop that typically grows well under soil, also underperformed in the heat.
“It wasn’t producing as it would normally produce when the temperature is relatively cool. Cassava yields were down significantly,” he added.
This was also the case with potatoes.
“When the earth is extremely hot, the production is a bit lower because the plant can’t operate as it normally would. That’s just from our experience here on the station.”
The agriculture officer also pointed out that excessive heat affects not just the air and soil but even the water used to irrigate crops, especially when pulled from wells.
“You might be pulling water from a well, but outside is so hot you’re giving the plants hot water. To put it in layman’s terms, it’s like giving them hot water to drink. When rainwater cools the soil, you will see the difference, as plants grow much better with that.”
The comments follow confirmation from Caribbean climate experts that 2024 was the warmest year on record for the region since measurements began in 1950.
The findings were published in the American Meteorological Society’s annual State of the Climate report, with contributions from UWI scientists and the Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology.
The report noted that temperatures in the region averaged 26.81°C, which is 0.84°C above the norm for the period 1991 to 2020.
It also confirmed severe droughts between March and May, followed by destructive storms later in the year, including Hurricane Beryl.
Although the Graeme Hall Station has not conducted formal studies with external farmers, Philips said the impact of the heat on yields observed is consistent with what is likely being experienced in hotter parishes such as St Philip and Christ Church, particularly areas closer to the airport.
To help farmers cope with temperature stress, Philips advised that those producing leafy vegetables should consider using sprinklers rather than relying solely on drip irrigation.
“If you could, instead of using drip, use a little sprinkler just to cool the leaves during the day, you will get better yields. But if you’re just using drip, the water goes to the roots and the leaves are still absorbing all that heat. That’s where you get wilting and burning,” he said.
He recalled growing a crop of Rosa lettuce and waking up the next day to find all the leaves burned.
Not all crops suffered, as Philips noted that some, such as watermelon and cucumber, did extremely well in the heat, especially when cultivated using ground cover, which helped moderate soil temperature during early growth.
He, however, acknowledged that only certain varieties thrived, stating, “Some plants acclimatise better than others.” (SM)
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