It's apple picking season in NY. Was your favorite orchard hurt by late spring frost?

Matthew Critz knew he was in trouble on a May morning earlier this year when the weather forecast showed a cloudless, sunny day with no wind — a perfect recipe for frost.

The beautiful day, enjoyed by many Central New Yorkers, led to below-freezing temperatures at night that decimated 95% of the apple crop at Critz Farms in Cazenovia, Madison County, and caused the family-run establishment to close its orchards for the fall picking season.

Critz has been in agriculture for over 50 years and knows the impact weather can have on a season’s crop. Recent changes in extreme weather conditions have made agriculture more difficult, he says.

“Frost control is very difficult; we did everything that we could do,” Critz said. “I'm not quite sure I'm over it yet.”

From May 14 to 25, New York experienced several days that fell below freezing, but May 17 and 18 saw the most widespread damage overnight.

The frost hit grapes and apples the hardest, which translated into major losses, considering that New York is the nation’s second-largest apple producer and third-largest grape producer, according to the state agency Empire State Development.

Several farms across New York — including Critz Farms near Syracuse, and Whittier Fruit Farm and DeFisher Fruit Farms in Western New York — were forced to close their U-pick seasons or their cidery operations this year.

This summer, the federal government declared 31 New York counties as "primary natural disaster areas," allowing them to apply for federal emergency loans related to crop losses. (Another 24 contiguous counties were also made eligible for aid.)

All this means that New Yorkers, who historically flock to orchards in the fall season for apple picking, pumpkin picking and all things cider, may see fewer farms open and fewer apples on the trees in some areas this year.

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Some orchards saw certain varieties hit, but not others

Critz Farms was not the only location impacted by the late May frost. At Soons Orchards in New Hampton, Orange County, they saw a sizable impact on their apples, with some varieties being affected more than others.

Jefferey Soons — whose father, Arthur, is the owner of the orchard — said that for Gala apples, there was about a 50% loss in crop compared to other varieties that saw minimal to no impact. Soons manages outside operations and wholesale for the orchard and said he had to go in and thin many trees by hand. Due to a lot of rain in the spring, the remaining apples were able to size up.

“Apples are vulnerable at different points in their development,” Soons said. "These were particularly vulnerable. This year, they were really hurt. It's just bad timing for them.”

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The orchard has 50 different varieties of apples and had a large crop this season. With a surplus in apples and so many varieties escaping the worst of the frost, Soons Orchard saw less of an overall impact than other orchards.

Why is frost so damaging to apple trees?

Pollination and weather timing are essential in agriculture, said Hailey Fuesner, agriculture educator at Cornell Cooperative Extension of Chemung County. When trees are in blossom, there is a 12- to 72-hour window where trees are ready to be pollinated, she said. If the season is cold and bees do not come out to pollinate the trees, the unpollinated crops will see severe damage. The frost will cause the blossoms to freeze.

“It's a rather timely process,” Fuesner said. “If it wasn’t for pollination, we wouldn’t have the crops.”

According to Fuesner, had the frost occurred after the pollination period, especially after the flowers on the trees had disappeared,  “they would have been far along in production that it wouldn’t have bothered them so much.” Because of the timing of the frost, the buds were burned and fell to the ground.

Additionally, crop genetics plays a big role in production, Fuesner said. It is one of the few things farmers and those in agriculture can control. Certain varieties of apples can withstand colder temperatures and can survive late frosts, she said.

“There are some apple trees that have a genetic capability where they are to withstand that colder weather,” Fuesner said. “It all falls back to the selection farmers are picking to plant in their orchards.”

What’s next for orchards after frost damage to apples?

Because of the frost, Critz Farms had to outsource apples from nearby farms to continue their cider sale for the season. Though their apple orchards are closed for the season, the farm remains open, offering hayrides to the pumpkin fields, brewery and cider tasting, and a petting zoo.

“It's a very rewarding crop to grow; I like apples, and I have my favorite varieties, and I can choose from 20 or 30 different varieties out there,” Critz said. “It's hard when you lose your whole crop. It makes you feel bad.”

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: NY apple picking: Was your favorite orchard hurt by late spring frost?