“I was out looking at blueberries today, and it looked to me like those buds are starting to move,” Longstroth said. “So, they’re responding to the warm weather. That doesn’t mean that they’ll be hurt by temperatures below freezing. Right now, I think they take temperatures down to ten degrees without any problem at all.”
Longstroth says he doesn’t expect it to get that cold for the rest of the year, but but worries that if it does his crop may be more vulnerable after warmer weather causes budding.
Fruit tree growers are also watching the early spring weather with concern, Paul Gross, Isabella County MSU Extension educator on field crops and bioenergy said.
Like the blueberries, if fruit trees bud too early because of mild temperatures both during the day and through the night, another cold snap would likely kill those buds, greatly decreasing the amount of fruit produced.
In recent years Michigan apple, cherry, peach and other fruit tree production suffered because of early warmth followed by hard freezes that killed early buds.
“Planting early is key to a high yield and a good year,” Gross said. “Those farmers are ready to plant as early as possible.”
source:themorningsun.com, wsjm.com
