THE INFLUENCE OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON THE BEGINNING OF FLOWERING OF PEAR (PYRUS COMMUNIS, L.) AND CHERRY (CERASUS AVIUM, L.) AND THE PROBABILITY OF SPRING FROSTS IN SLOVAKIA

Climate change is not the future, it is a hard, tangible and uncompromising present. Globally, the risk of crop reduction is increasing. Production shocks that used to occur once every 100 years or so in the past may occur every 30 years or more in the future. The development of fruit growing, as part of agricultural activities in the countryside, must record the impacts caused by climate change and apply the species structure of fruit trees in the regions of Slovakia, which will fully respect the biological requirements of the species. The aim of this contribution is the analysis of the average onset of the phenological phase � first flowering (BBCH 60) in the period 1931 � 1960 and 1991 � 2020 and the analysis of the occurrence of spring frosts in the last 20 years in selected locations in Slovakia. The results show that the beginning of the flowering of pears (Pyrus communis, L.) has now shifted and starts on average 5 � 6 days earlier in the Danube Lowland and 4 days earlier in the Eastern Slovak Lowland. The beginning of the flowering of cherry (Cerasus avium, L.) also starts earlier by an average of 3 � 5 days in the Danube Lowland and 6 � 7 days earlier in the Eastern Slovak Lowland. Due to the fact that flowering starts earlier, there is a high risk of spring frost in these dates. Therefore, it is necessary to adapt to the current situation with agrotechnical procedures and passive measures, for which we advise the selection of frost-resistant species or the application of chemical substances to delay budding.