Hello all, It is often amazing to see similar things happening in parts of the United States and Europe at the same time. As was the case with parts of the US, those of us in Ireland and Britain had a very early spring, brought about by very warm weather (by our standards) in March. The lovely spell of weather, while welcomed by the public, was always of concern to fruit growers, for fear of what might follow it. Thus far, the weather since the nice spell in March has been miserable, giving poor pollinating conditions, and there have been sub-freezing temperatures at night, but in general not quite cold enough to damage crop potential. On our own farm we were a little unfortunate, as on Saturday night last we had a more severe frost than recorded on other fruit farms in Ireland, and we suffered damage that will diminish the crop volume. Probably the worst crop hit was raspberry, where it is very difficult to find undamaged flowers, which though still closed, are blackened inside. On the other hand, plums, which are already setting, having commenced flowering about a month ago, seem unaffected, assuming that the set will be good enough, given the poor weather at flowering, which meant not many pollinating insects were at work. For apples, damage seems to vary with variety and location. Lower pockets on the farm are much more adversely affected, with the likelihood that the recorded minus 2.1 degrees at the weather station was an underestimate (or should I say overestimate) of the temperature in the cooler hollows. Worst affected varieties are Karmijn de Sonnaville and Bramley's Seedling, which I know both from assessing the damage and previous history, are rather susceptible. In the cooler areas Jonagold and Jonagored as well as Topaz are showing some damage, but still have the capacity for reasonable crops if set is good. In these same cooler spots, Elstar and clones show least damage, being a little later flowering, and also, I believe, a little more tolerant. Yesterday (the day after the frost) we made an emergency application of Regalis, which you in the US call Apogee, with the hope of getting maximum set in the most frost-affected areas. Other parts of the farm will probably get some later in the season, just for growth control. One interesting phenomenon that I await with interest is the formation of new flowers in the Bramley's Seedling. This is something that I have seen happening in Bramley's in frosty years in the past, but never in any of the other 60 varieties I grow. These flower buds form on the tips of new emerging shoots in response to frost, especially on younger wood, rather than on older fruiting spurs. Typically each bud has about 2 flowers, which go on to open and flower about two weeks later than the main blossom, but which, despite the absence of pollen from other varieties, seem to set well. They typically result in smaller fruit, obviously maturing later. In years of a complete wipe-out of blossom they are a welcome feature, but in years when they are stimulated, but survival of the main blossom is adequate for a crop, they are a nuisance, and are sometimes removed by growers. This year, I think I will be glad to see them. With best wishes from what is a wet and cold Ireland this morning, Con Traas The Apple Farm www.theapplefarm.com
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