Record Warmth Could Turn Into a Disaster for U.S. Fruit Growers
- The high temperatures mean fruit trees are waking up early
- Farmers face weeks of worry that a freeze will kill flowers
Idared apples hang from a tree at Shelburne Farm in Stow, Massachusetts, U.S., on Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2016.
Photographer: Scott Eisen/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
February’s record warmth across the U.S. means several weeks of worry for fruit growers in the Midwest and Northeast as trees flower early, leaving them vulnerable to a hard freeze that could sweep in and kill them all.
Spring-like temperatures have come early to the eastern U.S., restricting maple syrup sap harvests and waking up apple, cherry and peach trees from Michigan to New Jersey and New York.