Posted on Oct 20, 2023
A bad apple season has some U.S. fruit growers planning for life in a warmer world
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https://www.npr.org/2023/10/20/ [login to see] /a-bad-apple-season-has-some-u-s-fruit-growers-planning-for-life-in-a-warmer-worl
Chuck and Diane Southers' thermal alarm went off around 10:30 p.m. on a fateful night in mid-May.
The alarm takes the temperature out in their 30-acre orchard and blares loudly if it dips too low. That Thursday night in Concord, New Hampshire, it was about 35 degrees Fahrenheit. The temperature kept getting colder.
The Southers' apple orchard was in full bloom, which is normal for mid-May. This year's was particularly good.
"We called it a popcorn bloom," Diane Souther said. "The tree was just white with flowers."
By Friday morning, all the petals were turning brown. The Southers cut open baby apples, about the size of a pencil eraser. Their sap had frozen, expanded, and, in the process, the cells and seeds were destroyed.
Chuck and Diane Southers' thermal alarm went off around 10:30 p.m. on a fateful night in mid-May.
The alarm takes the temperature out in their 30-acre orchard and blares loudly if it dips too low. That Thursday night in Concord, New Hampshire, it was about 35 degrees Fahrenheit. The temperature kept getting colder.
The Southers' apple orchard was in full bloom, which is normal for mid-May. This year's was particularly good.
"We called it a popcorn bloom," Diane Souther said. "The tree was just white with flowers."
By Friday morning, all the petals were turning brown. The Southers cut open baby apples, about the size of a pencil eraser. Their sap had frozen, expanded, and, in the process, the cells and seeds were destroyed.
A bad apple season has some U.S. fruit growers planning for life in a warmer world
Posted from npr.org
Farming
Agriculture
Climate Change
Posted 6 mo ago
Responses: 4
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All I know is my growing season is changing. There are fewer insects around and forget about pollinators as they have disappeared around here.
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As a man who comes from 2 lines of dairy farmers, I can say farming often involves gambling on the weather
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel it happened to a local peach grower on a certain type of peach... but not all.
..."Seasonal changes
Fruit growers like the Southers are watching human-caused climate change shift the seasonal patterns they've counted on for years to produce fruit. As the atmosphere warms and weather becomes more unpredictable, some farmers are considering big changes, like planting different crops or finding new ways to protect trees from the elements."...
..."Seasonal changes
Fruit growers like the Southers are watching human-caused climate change shift the seasonal patterns they've counted on for years to produce fruit. As the atmosphere warms and weather becomes more unpredictable, some farmers are considering big changes, like planting different crops or finding new ways to protect trees from the elements."...
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