Blueberry farmers in Baldwinsville, N.Y. were awake on the night of May 9, after a frost warning meant they needed to keep a close eye on their crops. Temperatures dipped below 30 degrees in some low lying areas, putting delicate buds at risk.
At Abbott Farms in Baldwinsville, the work day began just after midnight in an effort to protect blueberry bushes in the lowest lying area of the farm.
A large fan helped circulate air to keep frost from forming on the plants and small fires created a blanket of smoke over the field, almost like cloud cover, to trap radiant heat.
The efforts raised the temperature from 26 to 28 degrees, enough to keep that layer of frost from forming.
Like many fruit crops in Central New York, this particular batch of berries already took a hard hit in March when temperatures dipped into the single digits following a record warm winter.
Blair estimates only 80 percent of this first variety of blueberries will survive, despite their efforts. There are six other varieties of blueberries that should be in better shape.
"The plants are just fine, but we won't have fruit off them and that affects our crop," he said, adding that some of the apple trees were similarly affected.
Over the next two weeks, the blossoms will open up. Blair said that will give them a better sense of what the overall yield will look like for the season.
Source: syracuse.com
