ALPINE TOWNSHIP, Mich. — Early Monday morning, temperatures dipped below freezing, leaving apple growers concerned about damage to their apple buds.
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Phil Schwallier, who has been growing apples with his family for 37 years at Schwallier's Country Basket, inspected his orchard Tuesday to assess the damage. He estimates the freezing temperatures destroyed between 20 and 30 percent of the apple flowers.
"We take and cut open these buds. Usually, the king is the first one to get killed," Schwallier said while examining damaged buds. "This one is dead. It's got brown in it."
Despite the frost damage, Schwallier said his orchard remains in good shape. He expects his harvest to be down only 5 to 10 percent.
"On a fruit bud, we have five potential flowers, and the smaller ones survive the frost, and if I can find some green ones, then I've got a crop," Schwallier said.
The apple grower sees a potential upside to the loss.
"5% crop loss, that's not very much. So that means the ones that are left will be higher quality. They'll be bigger fruit, because there's less competition," Schwallier said.
The frost damage this year pales in comparison to 2012, when Schwallier said the Fruit Ridge area experienced 21 straight days of spring frost.
Schwallier uses various methods to protect his crops, including frost fans and irrigation, but acknowledges the limits of human intervention.
"Mother Nature is a full partner with us in the fruit business and agriculture, and we can't do a thing about what happens. We can try to protect it. We use frost fans, and we use irrigation and other techniques," he said.
With four months remaining until harvest, Schwallier knows weather challenges could still affect his crop.
"So, there are a lot of things to worry about. But this area has been growing apples for well over 100 years. And they grow them here, because this is a good area to grow fruit, grow apples," he said.
Schwallier hopes Monday morning was the last frost of the spring. The average last freeze of the season for the area is the first week of May.
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