The sea buckthorn, which grows wild on the coast, simply belongs to the Baltic Sea region - actually. Spreads or juice from the bright orange berries are popular holiday gifts. But they no longer come from Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The death of the sea buckthorn bushes, which has been going on for years, means the end for the industry pioneer.
The lights are going out in the once proud center of German sea buckthorn cultivation. For years, a mysterious die-off of sea buckthorn has been eating away at the bushes in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. Now, for the first time in the company's 40-year history, the harvest is failing at the industry pioneer, Sanddorn Storchennest GmbH in Ludwigslust. Last year they got four tons from the bushes, in the best years 120 tons. Will they ever go back to the fields to cut the metre-long, prickly branches with the orange-red berries? Company boss Silvia Hinrichs does not know.
At the second large company in the federal state, Forst Schneebecke in Alt Steinhorst near Rostock, the berries are being harvested for the last time on a miserable six hectares these days. The sea buckthorn plantations are then broken up, says owner Benedikt Schneebecke. He wants to grow Christmas trees there in the future. He once grew sea buckthorn on 70 hectares.
Years of fighting, trying and hoping lie behind both companies. For about ten years, the sea buckthorn die-off in the north-east has become increasingly violent. First a bush dries up in a plantation, soon there are ten, then the whole field. It could be drought stress, experts said. Schneebecke tried watering it, but it didn't help. Wild stocks on the coast are also dying. Now Schneebecke gives up.
The once largest German organic growing area for sea buckthorn in Ludwigslust covered 117 hectares, picturesquely distributed around the baroque city. Almost everything is dead, says Hinrichs. There are still almost 10 hectares with living plants.
The company was a pioneer in Germany. When the GDR leadership decided to start experiments with frost-hard, vitamin-rich fruits due to a chronic shortage of foreign currency, Ludwigslust was there. The shrub, originally from the Himalayas, thrives on the sandy soil. Cultivation has been commercial since the early 1980s and survived the fall of the Wall. Sea buckthorn is a popular niche product and is used in creams, liqueurs, jams, ice cream and mustard.
Sea buckthorn products are among the most popular souvenirs for Baltic Sea tourists - they are tasty and healthy at the same time. According to the health insurance company AOK, sea buckthorn berries score particularly well with their high vitamin C content. 100 grams of the fruit contain up to 1300 milligrams of vitamin C. Lemons, on the other hand, only contain 51 milligrams per 100 grams. Sea buckthorn is not called the "lemons of the north" for nothing.
"It's extremely sad," says the fruit growing consultant for Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Rolf Hornig. "The cultivation of sea buckthorn had a high regional cultural value." At the beginning of 2021, a three-year research project started with the participation of the Julius Kühn Institute to get to the bottom of the cause of the sea buckthorn die-off. Hornig has not yet been able to report a breakthrough. "We're all at a loss." As long as that is the case, he cannot recommend anyone to grow sea buckthorn.
In Ludwigslust they still have a glimmer of hope. "We replant three or four hectares every year," says Hinrichs. Maybe the cause will be found soon. She has observed that the sea buckthorn dieback begins quite reliably when the bushes bear fruit for the first time after a few years. However, most of the former sea buckthorn plantations in Ludwigslust would be converted to organic farming. Experiments are also being carried out with walnuts, hazelnuts and aronia berries.
Outside of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, the die-off of sea buckthorn does not seem to be a problem so far. From what is now the largest grower in Germany, Christine Berger GmbH
Also Ralf Donath from Seydaland United Agrarbetriebe GmbH
