Georgia’s late winter and early spring are consistently inconsistent in terms of weather. As temperatures warm, daylight hours increase, and rainfall seeps deep into the soil, plants begin to burst into bloom, signaling the arrival of spring.
It’s also the time of year when fruit growers, especially those producing peaches, hold their breath hoping a late freeze won’t kill those vulnerable new blossoms and decimate their season.
With more than 90% crop loss throughout Georgia, the peach industry lost $60 million due to the late freeze that hit much of the Southeast in mid-March 2023, said Jeff Cook, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension agent for Peach and Taylor counties.
Navigating Georgia’s fickle late winter weather
Spring is the most stressful time of year for peach growers because they are at the mercy of the weather and have few tools to help them in the likely event of a late freeze, an all-too-common occurrence that has them looking for alternate solutions, said Cook, the state’s area peach agent.
To break dormancy and set fruit each spring, peach trees must acquire a certain number of hours each year with temperatures that fall between 32 and 45 degrees Fahrenheit, referred to as chill hours. The required chill hours vary depending on the peach variety, but most growers in Georgia hope to receive around 1,000 cumulative hours. Once those requirements are met and temperatures are consistently warm, buds begin to swell, making them more susceptible to freezing temperatures. These burgeoning buds eventually blossom into fruit that grow throughout the summer.
By mid-February, Georgia received between approximately 600 hours in the southeast to more than 1,200 in the northeast, with around 800 hours in the primary peach-growing area in the central part of the state. This sets up the industry for a potentially fruitful season ahead.
Entering the second week of April, no freezing temperatures are expected in the forecast. With hope for strong…
Read the full article here
