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The loss was heavy, Assessing the Damage

but would be hard to difficult to measure. The first visible indication of dam-
The damage caused by the most recent event is still
figure out the exact age, one that has been widely observed, is burnt leaves

numbers until August and their subsequent fall. However after the second frost,
many plants will need to be replanted if they are less
than three or four years old and old trees will be pruned.
or September. The loss was heavy but would be hard to figure out the
exact numbers until August or September.
Younger crops less than four years old are gen-
erally more affected by the cold, as their thinner
branches, roots, and trunks are more vulnerable.
Another factor is that younger plants have a less dense
canopy, which favors the entry of cold air and reduc-
es heat storage the night before the frost.
The cold can cause the formation of microcrys-
tals throughout the plant, but the leaves are the most
exposed part of the plant and contain a significant
amount of water, which means they end up freezing
more easily.
The formation of ice and the contraction of
protoplasm are the causes of irreversible damage
to membranes and other cellular components, and
thus prevent the normal reestablishment of the
plant cell metabolism. This causes cell dehydration
and cell disruption.

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