Roller Coaster Temperatures Take a Toll on New York Stone Fruits

Fruit crops in New York have suffered severe damage this year because of wildly fluctuating temperatures.

Stone fruits like nectarines, peaches and plums in particular bloomed early, only to be hard by late frosts. 

"We've had years where there has been injury but never like this," said Fred Wilklow, owner of Wilklow Orchards in the Hudson Valley, who started growing peaches over ten years ago. "It went to 10 below and that did kill all the buds. They didn't even attempt to grow."

Temperatures in Highland, New York, where his farm is located rose as high as 60 degrees Fahrenheit in February before dropping to -6 degrees on Valentine's Day.

Wilklow said he saw his apples turn green 19 days before normal. He has to wait and see if the rest of his crops, like cherries and plums, will survive. He said they seem like they are growing but they bloomed in the first week of April and temperatures dropped again after that. He is not confident he will have any stone fruits at all.

Deborah DeWan, executive director of the Rondout Valley Growers Association in the Hudson Valley, said the roller-coaster winter means there will less local produce than there would have been in a normal year. She said the shortage could also affect their price.

Wilklow sent a letter to one of his farm shares in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn, to warn customers of potentially lower yields.