Huge hailstones ruin Genoa crops
Pastor Dale Morgan
Huge hailstones ruin Genoa crops*
Barbara McMahon
Wednesday August 16, 2006
The Guardian
Hailstones as big as ping pong balls and torrential rain have destroyed
large swaths of basil grown in Italy, sparking fears of a shortage of
the famous basil-based sauce, pesto alla Genovese.
The extreme weather hit the area of Pra, west of Genoa, with such force
that it shattered panes of glass on dozens of greenhouses where the
basil is grown. Further damage was caused by a second storm.
About 80% of the basil crop, grown in an area known as the Podesta
plain, was lost, and the cost of the incident is put at €4m (£2.7m).
Volunteers from Genoa's civil protection squad are helping agricultural
workers clear up the mess but growers have said that a second cycle of
basil, due to be seeded in September, will also be affected and that
production will not return to normal until March 2007. The regional
authority in Liguria is being asked for financial assistance following
the disaster.
Pesto, made with basil leaves, garlic, pine nuts, olive oil and grated
cheese, has been known since Roman times and probably originated in
north Africa. It can be made around the world but only growers from the
area of Pra are entitled to call their sauce pesto alla Genovese, the
product having been recognised by the EU as being of authentic artisan
origin. Basil leaves from this area, which benefit from the microclimate
and alkaline soil, are small and intensely flavoured.