Fruit Crops Vulnerable to Frost Risk

A record-setting warm winter has put fruit in the Midwest’s top-producing state (Michigan) at risk. 

“It not only broke the record it really shattered it.”

Michigan climatologist Jeff Andresen told Brownfield Ag News that winter temperatures in the Great Lakes state were more than 10 degrees warmer than ever recorded.

“This has been the warmest winter we’ve had on record since at least in 1895, almost 130 years,” he says. “December of last year was the warmest December on record, February of this year was the warmest February on record, and January was the 4th warmest.”

Andresen says while there haven’t been prolonged stretches of heat waves like in 2012, fruit crops broke dormancy about a month ahead of normal.

“What we probably have set ourselves up for is an extended period of risk for seeing problems with cold injury, because everything came out early,” he says.

Temperatures near freezing and below cause the most damage to tree fruit. But Andresen says outlooks suggest those conditions should be limited with more normal-like weather in the forecast.

EDITOR’S TAKE:

Frost can be devastating to a fruit crop no matter where it is located. When the blooms come early, the opportunity for serious damage increases exponentially. It has happened in the past in Michigan where huge portions of the apple or cherry crops were wiped out due to a frost condition. Orchard owners have ways to fight back, but they are often inadequate to completely control the devastation. It appears that Michigan has eluded disaster thus far, but it only takes one night of frost at a crucial stage in fruit development to impact the entire year. We hope it doesn’t happen this year. But let this remind all of us that agriculture is extremely diverse. Sure, it is corn, soybeans, wheat, cotton, cattle, hogs and poultry, but it is much more – fruit, vegetables, flowers, cranberries, almonds – well you get the picture. Make sure you include all of these producers on that preferred customer list, as they all purchase trucks and require parts and service.