We had a nice spring where temperatures warmed gradually. Then in the middle of May we had an extended rainy period that allowed fire blight to infect apple and pear trees. You may have noticed branches with leaves that turned black and the branch died. The rainy period also allowed apple scab to get off to a good start. Scab is a disease that infects both the leaves and the fruit.
Throughout the summer we had lots of sunshine and enough rain to keep the trees growing nicely. The fall was also warm and sunny resulting in fruit that had excellent flavor, size, and color. We had a few light frosts in October and early November but not cold enough to damage fruit before harvest.
You may be wondering how this fall will impact the 2015’s fruit crop. While it is much too early to make any predictions about the 2015 crop there are some early indictors that are worth noting. First, the buds that are currently on the trees look good. These buds will produce the spring flowers and leaves in the spring. The warm, sunny fall allowed for good carbohydrate production. These carbohydrates will be used by the tree in the spring before the new leaves begin photosynthesizing. Second, the wide swing in temperature we experienced in recent weeks was not good. Ideally, the temperature should slowly get cold and stay cold. Consistency is good. While wide temperature variation is not desirable, it is better for it to happen in the late fall than late winter. Finally, remember, these things have a way of working themselves out. We do have weather related crop loss from time to time, but typically we get a good crop that makes up for the occasional loss.
Growing tree fruit is challenging, but it is worth the effort and we are up to the challenge.