Algae is seen along the Murray River at AlburyCOBRAM, Australia — Farmer Mazzareno Bisogni fights back tears as he stands among the remains of trees he planted 35 years ago, victims of a drought hitting "Australia's Mississippi".
Bisogni's orchard lies in the heart of the once-mighty Murray-Darling river system which irrigates Australia's food bowl, the vast southeastern corner responsible for 40 percent of agricultural output.
The eight-year 'big dry', the worst drought in a century, has devastated the region, an area covering 1.06 million square kilometres (410,000 square miles) -- the size of France and Spain combined.
Lack of water this year meant the fruit on Bisogni's apple and pear trees in Victoria state literally cooked on their branches under the furious Australian sun, making them suitable only for jam.
Rather than leave the land, like many farmers along the Murray, the tenacious 78-year-old Italian migrant scaled back his operation so he could use limited water resources to cultivate export-quality produce for Asia.
"I couldn't sleep for nights before pulling them out, I was tossing and turning" he said, pointing to the blackened branches of dozens of trees he bulldozed and burned.
"A pear tree has 100 years life (but) I have to pull them out. It broke my heart."
Tourist brochures for the Murray-Darling say Mark Twain likened the waterway to his beloved Mississippi during a visit in the 1890s. CONTINUE
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