Source: NCSU COOPERATIVE EXTENSION, 4/20/22

To date, at least three cold fronts have threatened the 2022 apple crop in the southeast. I sincerely hope that:  1) this is the last gasp of winter, and 2) that you all will still have potential for a full crop of apples. However, I realize that this is not the case for some operations.

The first event (March 13th) occurred at silvertip / 1st green across most cultivars. Pending upon location, temperatures generally ranged from 10 °F to 19 °F. This particular event resulted in bud mortality in some cultivars and locations. As an example, we observed 48% bud mortality in a 'Gala’ research orchard in Mills River, NC. Despite this injury, most orchards still had potential for a full crop of apples…though there are certainly a few exceptions. The extent of this injury was visible at tight cluster/pink, since damaged blossoms had already ceased in their development and/or aborted (Fig. 1 and 2).

For more of this story, click here.