In January, days of frost destroyed eighty percent of the Yanover esrog field in a small area of southern Italy’s Calabria area, which Chabad chassidim have been particular to use since the 18th century.
Yanover esrogim will be few and of lower quality this Sukkos season. Many trees died from the freezing spell and others were severely pruned to help them recover. It takes years for a newly planted branch to grow into a fruit-yielding tree.
Following the drastic loss, many farmers have lost much of their income and are considering selling their land to developers.
{Matzav.com Israel News Bureau}