Most orchard owners unconcerned about weather damage to peaches

David Diebold of Diebold Orchards Inc. near Benton, Mo., is not too concerned about damage to his peach crop from the strong cold front which swept through the area the past two days.

"It's pretty early to tell," said Diebold. "We didn't have many blossoms, and it could have acted as a thinning measure. It could have done some good."

The front dropped temperatures to the lower 20s.

Diebold wasn't as optimistic about plums and apricots.

"We don't have many plums," he said. "But this could have taken them out."

The low temperatures in the immediate Southeast Missouri/Southern Illinois area was around 20, said National Weather Services officials at Paducah, Ky. The previous lows this month was 24 March 1 and March 5.

"But following Friday night lows, a high-pressure front could warm things up in a hurry," said Mike York, of the Paducah weather station. "Saturday night lows could be above freezing."

"By Sunday night, we'll be looking at lows in the mid-40s," he added.

Temperatures are expected in the lower 60s Monday, higher than most temperatures over the past two weeks. The area experienced a 71-degree day March 14, but most have recorded highs in the mid-50s.

March has been moderate, averaging 46 degrees, about the same as a year ago, when the month averaged 44 degrees.

Bill Flamm, a co-owner of Flamm Orchards at Cobden, Ill., says he's not concerned either

Flamm and Diebold say temperatures would have to dip as low as 10 degrees to really the damage the crop severely this time of year.

"I don't think that will happen," said Flamm. Diebold said he could tell more about any damage by Monday.

'Like a winter coat'

Meanwhile, some orchard owners in Central Illinois were more concerned. The National Weather Service warned that temperatures could fall to the middle teens in Central Illinois. Fruit horticulturists say that could kill a lot of the peach crop.

Freezing temperatures are particularly hazardous for peaches this time of year, because the buds that will grow into fruit by July are just starting to shed their winter cover and bloom.

"It's just like a winter coat," said Wayne "Ren" Sirles, 60, a fourth-generation peach grower in Alto Pass, Ill. "As the weather warms up, you take it off. But peaches can't put it back on. And some will get sick and die."

That often takes a few days.

Growers don't always mind a dip in their production, since less fruit means higher prices. Sirles' Rendleman Orchard peaches sold for $10 to $11 a half-bushel last summer, he said, and this year looks to be a repeat.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

rowen@semissourian.com

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