Mid-April freeze threatens fruit trees

ST. LOUIS -- The winter that just won't quit has one more punch for the nation's Heartland -- a cold front bringing a brief return to subfreezing weather, creating concerns for growers of apples, peaches, grapes and other fruit.

Temperatures in the 70s and 80s in recent days gave way to highs in the 40s in much of the lower Midwest on Monday, with even colder temperatures on the way. The National Weather Service issued freeze warnings for parts of six states -- Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Missouri, Arkansas and Illinois.

The weather service projected low temperatures Monday night and again tonight in the mid- to upper-20s in parts of Kansas, Missouri and Illinois. That could damage peach and apple crops, even grapes for wineries.

"We'll be close to record lows," National Weather Service meteorologist Jayson Gosselin said, predicting the coldest overnight lows in some Missouri and Illinois communities since 1928.

The extreme cold isn't expected to last -- by midweek, temperatures are expected to be back to near normal. Still, all it takes is a few hours of temperatures in the 20s to damage an apple or peach crop.

The one saving grace this year could be, ironically, the unusually brutal winter. The cold weather this year lingered throughout March in many Midwestern states, causing many fruit trees to bloom late.

Because many apple trees haven't yet bloomed, they may escape damage, said Patrick Byers, a Springfield, Mo.-based horticulture specialist for the University of Missouri Extension Service.

Byers recalled the last time Missouri saw a mid-April freeze, in 2007.

"It was devastating in 2007 because the fruit crops were well advanced," Byers said. "This freeze will be a problem but it won't be as devastating for apple growers, blueberry growers, blackberry and raspberry growers."

It was still cause for concern for Tom Range, owner of Braeutigam Orchards near Belleville, Ill. Range's orchards include a variety of fruits -- 1,200 apple trees, 1,000 peach trees, along with plums, blackberries, blueberries, cherries and

others.

"I am concerned," Range said. "We're going to be in that danger zone."

Several below-zero days in the winter took a toll on peach buds at Range's farm -- he was already projecting a 50-percent loss of peaches even before the latest cold snap. Apples are hardier, he said, but he worries that if temperatures get as low as predicted, he'll lose some of his apple crop,

too.

"We're expecting to take a big hit," Range said.

In northeast Missouri, Sandy Binder's 800-tree apple orchard looked like it would be OK. Her plum trees were another

matter.

"My apple trees aren't blooming yet but my plum trees are, which means I won't have any plums this year," Binder said. Still, she feels lucky.

"Another couple of warm days and those apple trees would have opened up," she said.

Grapes aren't as far along as other fruit crops, but Byers said the cold could damage the young, developing buds. Texas ranks sixth among states with the most wineries, Missouri 10th and Illinois 11th, according to WineAmerica.