Close X
Tuesday, November 19, 2024
ADVT 
National

B.C. Apple Growers Fear Late Frost As Balmy Weather Speeds Apple Blossoms

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 06 Apr, 2016 12:52 PM
    KELOWNA, B.C. — A stretch of unseasonably mild weather has some apple growers anxious about trees that are growing too fast.
     
    The apple blossom may come as soon as the third week of April, about three weeks ahead of normal. When the pink and white flowers are visible throughout orchards, that's when the trees are most vulnerable to frost.
     
    "I'm a little bit nervous about the weather, because it's not at all uncommon for us in the Central Okanagan to get quite severe frosts in early May," Fred Steele, president of the BC Fruit Growers' Association, said Tuesday.
     
    A late frost during or immediately after blossom can result in fruit that's stunted and misshapen, considerably reducing its market value.
     
    In Ontario in 2012, 85 per cent of the province's apple crop was seriously damaged or lost to frost in May.
     
    The temperature in Kelowna this week is forecast to be about 10 degrees above normal for early April. The 14-day forecast calls for temperatures to fall back to the mid-teens next week, but then rise toward 20 C again on the weekend after.
     
    "The sustained days of above-normal temperatures really pushes us quickly toward blossom," Steele said. "We're about three weeks ahead of where we'd ideally want to be in early April." 
     
    Local apple farmers may even be looking enviously this week toward the apple-growing regions of Ontario, where winter-like conditions persist.
     
    "They're lucky, in a way, because it's been staying cold for a while down there," said Steele, who has been talking with some of his Ontario counterparts. "The trees haven't been moving at all, so this bad weather for them will put their season behind, but it won't affect the orchards."
     
    But while apple growers are anxious, South Okanagan cherry farmers are cheery, as cherry blossom and those of other soft fruits is already well underway.
     
    "Temperatures of 20 to 25 C are perfect for us," said Pinder Dhaliwal, an Oliver grower and vice-president of the BCFGA.
     
    "The overnights of 5 and 6 C are awesome, too," he said.
     
    "Fingers crossed, things are good so far."

    MORE National ARTICLES

    Manitoba NDP Demand Liberals Drop Candidate Over Social Media Comments

    Manitoba NDP Demand Liberals Drop Candidate Over Social Media Comments
    Manitoba New Democrats say a Liberal candidate in the upcoming election should be dropped because of his social media comments.

    Manitoba NDP Demand Liberals Drop Candidate Over Social Media Comments

    Women Advised To Wait 2 Months To Get Pregnant After Travel To Zika Hotspots

    Women Advised To Wait 2 Months To Get Pregnant After Travel To Zika Hotspots
    The mosquito-borne virus has been potentially linked in Brazil to thousands of cases of newborns with abnormally small heads. It's believed mothers may have been infected during pregnancy

    Women Advised To Wait 2 Months To Get Pregnant After Travel To Zika Hotspots

    Charges Laid In Vancouver After Suspect Allegedly Tries To Throw Woman Off Pier

    Charges Laid In Vancouver After Suspect Allegedly Tries To Throw Woman Off Pier
    Police say they were called to the Coal Harbour waterfront, near Canada Place, at about 10 p.m. Monday after reports a young woman was trying to throw a 31-year-old woman off the pier and into the water below.

    Charges Laid In Vancouver After Suspect Allegedly Tries To Throw Woman Off Pier

    Canadian Triathlete Sweetland Changes Things Up Ahead Of Final Olympic Push

    Canadian Triathlete Sweetland Changes Things Up Ahead Of Final Olympic Push
    Like most triathletes, she usually spends the winter in warm climates preparing for the gruelling season ahead — not beside snow-covered British Columbia mountains.

    Canadian Triathlete Sweetland Changes Things Up Ahead Of Final Olympic Push

    Victims Of 'Internet Black Widow' Concerned Over Her Release In Nova Scotia

    Victims Of 'Internet Black Widow' Concerned Over Her Release In Nova Scotia
    Two men preyed upon by an elderly woman known as the "Internet Black Widow" say they fear for public safety as a Nova Scotia prison prepares to release her onto the street.

    Victims Of 'Internet Black Widow' Concerned Over Her Release In Nova Scotia

    Environment Shouldn't Become Arena For Political Fights: Justin Trudeau

    Environment Shouldn't Become Arena For Political Fights: Justin Trudeau
    Trudeau says politicians may have different views and backgrounds, but they can still come together in the fight against climate change.

    Environment Shouldn't Become Arena For Political Fights: Justin Trudeau