New York Apple Orchards Face Challenges as Harsh Weather Harms Harvest.
By Jackson Lustberg and Laratee Van Nieuwenhuyze
Frost, rain, and fungi were problems that both New York’s apple orchard and those who get their fruit from them had to grapple with in 2023.
“So this was a really tricky year, we had a very late frost this season,” said Michael Basedow, Fruit Tree Specialist for the Cornell Cooperative Extension. “We had a frost on May 19th when the trees were past bloom. That did quite a bit to our crop,” he added.
Apples that get deformed by weather conditions don’t make the cut for the wholesale market. Basedow also mentioned, “Fruit that didn’t die from that frost, ended up being pretty ugly.” There are various ways in which fruit can be deformed by different weather conditions.
According to Basedow, “The fruit is injured but not killed, what we see is what is called a frost ring develops. You just get a patch of rough skin on it.” He also says that this makes it harder to buy or sell.
“The fruit’s perfectly fine to eat, but on the wholesale market you can’t sell it, and if you’re at a farm stand you’re less likely to buy it.”
There was also the heavy rainfall this year to consider. Basedow stated, “…the summer rains are very hit or miss, depending if you’re in that thundercloud or not. There were some orchards with really heavy rainfall. We were seeing 10, 11, 12 inches of rainfall in the Champlain Valley.”
Like frost, too much rain can have a negative effect on the apples. “On one side we saw improved fruit size in some varieties, some varieties grew too big for the wholesale market,” Basedow stated.
While Basedow describes the late frost as a, “30-plus year kind of event,” he also believes that “these weather patterns that we’re seeing are consistent with what’s being predicted from climate change models.”
If climate change ushers in frequent extreme weather patterns such as consistent heavy rains, then apples could suffer more.
“Disease was a little harder to protect against this summer. It's two-fold. Most of the diseases grow better when there's an abundant amount of moisture. One, they’re spreading better, two, it's harder to get out and actually protect against them,” Basedow said.
On the other hand, he noted that some of the diseases attack insects, and some insects such as the brown marmorated stink bug were less likely to descend upon orchards because they could source water elsewhere. Other bugs had a harder time emerging with the ground saturated with water.
However, the extra rain also dissuades apple pickers from coming out for the time-honored fall pastime. “It rained for seven Saturdays out of nine Saturdays during the apple picking window. It’s hard to get people out on a rainy day,” Basedow added.
Alexandria Romano, a cashier at Barton Orchard’s store, The Apple Core, said, “We actually weren’t able to open the peach portion for the peach picking this year because of that. Same thing with the vegetable garden. And it also affected the apples as well.”
On the bright side, orchards are evolving to offer customers new experiences. “Looking at pick your owns, they had a lot of events which helped them get through that,” Basedow said. “Some farms offer rides out to pumpkin patches and some farms host concerts. Some might have breweries or tasting rooms. Others are getting into hosting events, like wedding venues.”
