The apricot trees are already in bloom. I don’t expect a great harvest this year either, as it is a semi-desert tree and excess winter rain reduces its production. I fear that many trees could die due to the proliferation of fungi in the roots caused by waterlogging.
However, every cloud has a silver lining: the water will keep the big-headed worm at bay. Its larvae live in the soil and devour the roots of pear, plum and peach trees, although their favourite is the apricot tree. Just today, I saw the first adults sunbathing; they are beetles with an almost impenetrable shell, whose name comes from the large size of their heads in the larval stage.
Since it spends much of its life cycle underground, it is a difficult insect to combat, but waterlogged soil slows down its development. Anyway, that’s how things are in the countryside; as the saying goes, ‘You can’t please everyone.’
It is a sight to behold the tree in full bloom, but in agriculture, concern for the future harvest often prevents us from enjoying the present. I hope these lines help you to learn more about this fruit tree and help me to forget the uncertainty and learn to live more in the present.
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