Tomatoes and watermelons grow for first time in the middle of the Rhine
On the recently emerged gravel banks in the historically low waters of the Rhine, many tomato plants and even some watermelons have started to grow.
"The seeds probably come above all from sewage plants and kitchen rubbish from ships,” Andreas Sundermeier from the Federal Institute of Hydrology (BfG) in Koblens told DPA.
“The tomatoes become partly ripe. I have even harvested some from the groyne fields on the Lower Rhine,” said Sundermeier.
That there are also watermelons - which originally come from Africa - on the gravel banks, is “a totally new development," he said.
These fruits have not, however, grown very big, said the trained geoecologist. More warm, dry summers could facilitate their propagation on the gravel banks.
In large rivers without barrages and in extremely low waters, annual plants also flourish, according to Sundermeier.
SEE ALSO: Water woes as drought leaves Germany's Rhine shallow
This includes places such as the middle and lower Rhine, the middle Elbe and Oder, as well as parts of the Danube. Plants can’t grow on banks thick with grass and weeds - Sundermeier named mudwort and red goosefoot as examples.
Annual plants produce seeds which, according to Sundermeier, survive in higher water levels of subsequent years and can then germinate. “Some of these plants can germinate even decades later,” said the geoecologist.
Comments
See Also
"The seeds probably come above all from sewage plants and kitchen rubbish from ships,” Andreas Sundermeier from the Federal Institute of Hydrology (BfG) in Koblens told DPA.
“The tomatoes become partly ripe. I have even harvested some from the groyne fields on the Lower Rhine,” said Sundermeier.
That there are also watermelons - which originally come from Africa - on the gravel banks, is “a totally new development," he said.
These fruits have not, however, grown very big, said the trained geoecologist. More warm, dry summers could facilitate their propagation on the gravel banks.
In large rivers without barrages and in extremely low waters, annual plants also flourish, according to Sundermeier.
SEE ALSO: Water woes as drought leaves Germany's Rhine shallow
This includes places such as the middle and lower Rhine, the middle Elbe and Oder, as well as parts of the Danube. Plants can’t grow on banks thick with grass and weeds - Sundermeier named mudwort and red goosefoot as examples.
Annual plants produce seeds which, according to Sundermeier, survive in higher water levels of subsequent years and can then germinate. “Some of these plants can germinate even decades later,” said the geoecologist.
Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.
Please log in here to leave a comment.