I don't think your temps were cool enough and especially the duration long enough to cause damage. 28° is the temp for 10% kill post bloom but the duration needs to be about three hours. I wouldn't worry one bit. Growing apples in WA state we considered a frost like yours to be a free thinning of fruit that was likely to drop anyway. More likely it just speeded the natural drop along. Sometimes with pears temps in that range can cause marking but with apples there is little concern.
Bill Fleming Montana State University Western Ag Research Center Corvallis, MT 59828 -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of John Lyman III Sent: Tuesday, May 11, 2010 7:06 AM To: 'Apple-Crop' Subject: Apple-Crop: Experience with cold temps post bloom Hi, Had cold temps ranging from 27.5 to 29 in low spots in our orchard this morning. We are a week to 10 days past PF, and fruit size is on ave 8-12 mm. Does anyone have previous experience with cold temps at this stage that they could share? Thoughts on approach to thinning, what fruit damage to expect, etc. I think we were at these temps for just an hour or two. Thanks, John Lyman Lyman Orchards Middlefield, CT -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The 'Apple-Crop' LISTSERV is sponsored by the Virtual Orchard <http://www.virtualorchard.net> and managed by Win Cowgill and Jon Clements <[email protected]>. Apple-Crop is not moderated. Therefore, the statements do not represent "official" opinions and the Virtual Orchard takes no responsibility for the content. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The 'Apple-Crop' LISTSERV is sponsored by the Virtual Orchard <http://www.virtualorchard.net> and managed by Win Cowgill and Jon Clements <[email protected]>. Apple-Crop is not moderated. Therefore, the statements do not represent "official" opinions and the Virtual Orchard takes no responsibility for the content.
