Mar 8, 2012

Arkansas peach trees bloom early; late freeze still possible

Record warm temperatures have peach trees blooming in western Arkansas, leaving growers worried that a late freeze could hurt their crop.

After a similarly mild winter in 2007, a freeze in early April wiped out the state’s peach crop and took 80 percent of the grape crop, too.

The National Weather Service in Little Rock says there is a 50-50 chance of the last freeze of the year occurring by March 22 and the last frost on April 4.

Dan Chapman, director of the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture Fruit Research Station, said peach blossoms can take a little frost. But it’s a fine line between survival and having a crop ruined. The Huffington Post

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