Merritt Melancon of UGA wrote a recent press release which was posted in Growing Georgia describing some of the adverse impacts the warm and wet December has had on fruit and nut crops in Georgia. You can read the article here.
She points out that the record-setting warmth has also meant very low chill hours, which is a concern for the fruit farmers. In addition, because of the warm temperatures some early varieties of blueberry not only bloomed but produced fruit. Since cold weather is likely to destroy this early bloom, yields could be reduced later this spring. At the same time, the soggy conditions have caused problems in harvesting nuts and smothered tree roots in the wettest regions.
