Fruit
-
Now that fruit crops have received plenty of chill hours, farmers are starting to think about what they might have to do if an average or late frost brings killing temperatures back to the Southeast. Unfortunately, once the blooms arrive, options for protection are limited. You can read about some of the options in Vegetable…
-
Now that Texas is thawing out from its bitter cold blast, producers are starting to come to terms with what they have lost from the frost and snow as well as from loss of power and water. Here are several stories about agricultural losses in Texas and other parts of the central US from the…
-
With the cold weather we have been having in the Southeast (although it is nothing compared to Texas and the central US), the number of chill hours that our fruit crops have received this year is quite a bit more than last year, although still below the long-term average amounts. That means that most varieties…
-
With all of the cold air this year, chill hours for fruit are in good shape, and I’ve been told by peach experts that the buds are already swelling in the orchards, although they are not yet blooming. A good warm spell will probably be enough to break dormancy. But because we are not past…
-
With all the cold weather in the central part of the country, it is no surprise that agriculture is taking a big hit in addition to all of problems that consumers are experiencing from loss of power, heat, and sometimes water. Here are a few of the stories I have read today. This is an…
-
Citrus is one of the new crops that farmers are experimenting with in Georgia. Cold-hardy varieties like satsuma are being planted in warmer parts of the state as a way to take advantage of the warming climate as well as to take advantage of local food markets. One of the issues with growing citrus is…
-
While things feel cold to me here, and I even saw a little sleet today, air temperatures are expected to be much colder in Michigan where I grew up in the fruit belt in western Lower Michigan. The split in the polar vortex caused by the Sudden Stratospheric Warming event earlier in January is bringing…