Colombian coffee growers are preparing for looming heavy La Nina rains, which could hurt the country’s coffee harvest, reports Reuters. This comes as coffee growers are still dealing with the consequences of the El Nino drought. Roberto Velez, head of country’s Coffee Federation, told the source that coffee growers will need to now deal with “overly humid soil and the possible spread of the roya leaf rust disease.” Colombian meteorologists predict there is a high chance that the La Nina pattern of wetter weather will begin late this year or early next year.
Velez noted that for coffee growers, La Nina is more damaging than El Nino, as rain clouds can block sunlight and slow flowering while wet weather sparks the effects of roya.
