May 8, 2020

Eastern grape, fruit growers preparing for the worst with major frost event forecast

A spring already full of hurdles for Eastern wineries and other fruit growers because of the coronavirus pandemic and the associated stay-at-home orders is about to bring another one this weekend, with the forecast of frost possible Friday (May 8) through Sunday nights.

A surge of unusually cold air for May is plunging south from the Arctic and should cover most of the area east of the Rocky Mountains this weekend. Daily records are expected to fall throughout communities in the Great Lakes and Northeast this weekend, according to weather.com, with a frost possible as far south as part of the Carolinas and the Southeast and wet snow likely farther north. More than 6 inches is forecast in parts of Maine. The setup also could a rare May lake-effect snow in some of the Great Lakes snowbelts, weather.com noted.

According to a story in Penn Live Patriot-News,  some of the early-ripening grapes already have passed bud break, leaving them vulnerable to temperatures that drop into the low 30s and mid- to upper 20s. The buds are what will produce the grapes that will account for the year’s harvest.

Also from the Penn Live Patriot-News story:

Jeff Zick is the vineyard manager at Nimble Hill Winery & Brewery in Pennsylvania’s Wyoming County, and he said that his biggest fear now is Saturday morning. “We have two varieties, Chardonnay and Blaufrankisch, that are at about 25 percent bud break,” he said. “All other varieties the buds are extremely swollen but the leaves have yet to emerge. With forecast temperatures falling below freezing between the hours of 3 and 8 a.m., we will be taking measures to try to mitigate the amount of damage that we get and hopefully prevent any catastrophic losses.”

So what are some of the ways they will try to combat the cold?

Zick said he will most likely spray copper hydroxide (fungicide & bactericide) to help reduce the amount of ice nucleation bacteria on any green foliage. By doing so, he can reduce the temperature in which frost damage will occur by a few degrees, which might be all he needs to protect them. “We also have a frost fan. That will keep air moving, not allowing cold air to settle in low areas and cause damage,” he said. “But it looks like this forecast is predicting steady winds of 8 to 10 miles per hour, so the fan will most likely not be used unless that changes. If we were to get a freeze event, it wouldn’t matter what you try: sprinklers, frost fans, spraying, or burning smudge pots. They all only help to reduce injury by a few degrees.”

Of course, there’s more fruit growing now than grapes. Strawberry season in central Pennsylvania usually starts in early to mid-June, followed by blueberries, peaches and apples. Kathy Reid, of Reid’s Orchard & Winery in Adams County, said they already have put the strawberry covers back over their berries. A frost could kill any blooms on the apple trees or damage any apples already forming. “It is a great concern for sure,” she said.

For the complete Penn Live Patriot-News story, visit here.