Cultivations going tropical

Avocados instead of cucumbers, mangos instead of oranges, guavas instead of watermelons, lychees instead of apricots: Such a prospect may look unrealistic for Greece right now, but it will not be so in not-too-distant future.

Climate change is here and the prolonged heatwaves, warm winters and erratic rainfall are essentially the foretaste of a reality where the climate in Greece turns from temperate to tropical, as without any previous movement of the tectonic plates, the country has shifted closer to the Tropic of Cancer in climate terms.

Faced with the risk of the disappearance of traditional crops due to the change of climate conditions, the scientific community is already moving in two directions. Firstly, it is investigating the prospects of cultivating subtropical plants in Greece, which will not replace endemic plants but could be an alternative income source...