Earth Equity News

Early Apple Blossom Triggers Fears of Killer Frost. By Bob Salsberg, AP, April 18, 2010. "Frank Whittemore has been growing fruit for a lifetime and can't ever remember a year when the buds started peeking out on his 30,000 apples trees so early in the spring. And that's what has him worried. 'We're just praying that we don't get some really, really cold weather over the next few weeks,' said Whittemore, 85, co-owner of Brookdale Fruit Farm in Hollis, N.H. 'It would be a disaster for us.'… And farmers around the country fear that other fruits, including cherries, blueberries and plums, could also fall victim to frost. Orchard managers and fruit experts said a balmy early spring -- the mercury climbed to a record-shattering 92 degrees in parts of New England on April 7 -- combined with an early snow melt and heavy rains in March has trees blossoming two to three weeks ahead of schedule on average... And it's not just apples that are at risk. Peaches and plums that generally blossom slightly ahead of apples are also off to a much faster start this season. Even blueberries, just starting their growth cycle, could be susceptible to cold. A hard frost is not uncommon in New England in the last two weeks of April and not unheard of in early May... Northeast farmers aren't the only ones worrying. The unusually warm weather also had some apple and cherry trees in Michigan blossoming about three weeks earlier than normal. Warm weather in February also led to an early bloom in cherry and pear orchards in the Northwest."