Peach Crop Hit By Cold In New York

No pruning tasks were completed this winter thanks to the extremely low temperatures and large snowfall, says Jim Bittner of Bittner Singer Farms in Appleton, NY.

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“February was a complete disaster we could get no pruning done. We had too much snow in the orchard and it was just so bitter cold most days. Normally we prune a fair number of our apple trees in February,” Jim Bittner of Bittner Singer Farms told Time Warner Cable news.

Bittner says last year was the coldest winter he remembers and this year was the second coldest. He says his peaches took a big hit with the sub-zero temperatures and snow and he will likely lose a few trees.

“It’s probably going to be older trees that were at the end of their life anyway. They’re 16 to 20 years old and we know we’re going to have dead peach trees. We lost a lot of peach trees last winter and we’re afraid this winter’s going to be a similar situation,” Bittner says.

He says the slow thaw has helped drain the snow through his sandy soil slowly and the temperatures of late are status quo.

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“Right now we just want these trees to stay sleeping. We want it to stay cool, so when spring comes at the end of April, spring is here for good and they don’t bloom early and get hit with frost like they did in 2012,” he said.

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