Apple Crops Deal with Cold Nights

NS: Don’t panic: Kings crop should be fine
By Jennifer Hoegg, Transcontinental Media

Source: The Kings County Advertiser, May 3/10

Topics: Aylesford, Kingston, Port Williams

[AYLESFORD, NS] – A mild winter and early spring weather have buds bursting much earlier than usual. Early bloomers ran into trouble recently when frost hit low-lying orchards.

Bill Craig, tree fruit specialist with AgraPoint, says lows overnight April 13 and 14 damaged fruit trees in several areas. Temperatures stayed as low as -3.5 for several hours and “most orchards have some damage” – the worst he has seen since 1986.
The extent depends on location and cultivar: crops vary in timing and hardiness, Craig says. Damage is reported in Kingston, Aylesford, Woodville, Grafton and Port Williams.

“Most of the damage has happened in Gravensteins. There is quite a bit in McIntosh, which I was surprised to see, as I consider those hardy; some in Cortland and some in Jona Gold.”

The newer Honeycrisp, a popular export to U.S. markets, is just fine and Scotian Gold’s brand new SweeTango had no damage.

“I haven’t seen any damage in peaches or plums, but I have seen some in cherries. Very little in pears,” Craig says.

He points out the temperatures were normal for April, but “what isn’t ordinary is our trees are further along than they should be.”

Before mid-month cooler temperatures, trees were three or more weeks ahead. Blossoms are still two weeks ahead of schedule.

“On Thursday and Friday, I drove from one end of the Valley to the other,” Larry Lutz, crop specialist at Scotian Gold. “In one block in Aylesford, the Macintosh suffered quite a bit, the Cortlands had some, Ida Red had none.”

Don’t panic, Lutz says. As only one to two per cent of blossoms need to set fruit for a good crop, it’s “nowhere near a disaster.” Although he has seen 85 per cent damage in one block, most damage is lighter.

“It may look very bad starting out and still give you a full crop,” Lutz says.

“Some growers will notice a difference,” Craig says. “We won’t know the total impact of that frost until fruit set, sometime in late-May.”