John Mercer
MOULTRIE — Despite all the technology that might be applied, weather can make or break a crop — too much rain or not enough, unseasonably cold temperatures or unseasonably hot.
Recently, extremely cold weather in parts of California has severely damaged that state’s citrus crop. Florida, on the other hand, has lost much of its citrus industry to development and has yielded to the west coast producers to meet the demand for oranges and grapefruit.
Southern California, not accustomed to snow and ice, took a beating in that regard just a few weeks ago. What impact this unusual weather on the West Coast may have on the rest of the country has yet to be determined, but higher prices are a foregone conclusion.
But other than higher prices for citrus products, California’s weather won’t have much effect on Colquitt County agriculture, according to County Extension Agent Glenn Beard.
“Overall, we’ve not had exceptionally cold temps here,” Beard said, “So we’ve not been hurt in that respect. On the other hand, the few strawberries planted here and the peach orchards are starting to bud out, and that’s not good if we have a late cold snap.”
Apparently, that cold snap is here. Temperatures in the low 30s to upper 20s are forecast through the weekend and the first part of the week. According to Beard, the warm temperatures that South Georgia has experienced so far this winter are not normal weather for this time of the year and that could be an impending disaster for those crops.
Scott Hart probably has Colquitt County’s largest crop of strawberries planted on his farm near Funston. He isn’t overly concerned with colder temperatures.
Strawberries are very resilient to cold, Scott said, adding that if fruit has developed, only the red fruit is likely to suffer damage. The blooms, green fruit and buds can be protected by using sprinklers to apply a coat of ice over the plants, he explained.
He said that during cold weather, if a plant freezes without a protective covering of ice, the plant will begin to thaw by drawing heat from the plant. With a coating of ice covering the plant, as the thaw begins, the heat is drawn from the air.
Buds on peach trees, however, can’t be as easily protected.
For most vegetable producers in Colquitt County, cold weather is not a real concern because the only thing growing this time of year is winter greens (collards, mustard etc.). Those plants are very cold hardy, said Beard.
“We’ve just finished transplanting spring cabbage so there’s not much else going on,” the agent said. “The California situation is mostly with their citrus crops. There will definitely be an increase in the price of oranges.”
“The biggest problem we have here,” he said, “is the mild weather we’ve had lately has caused plants to break out of dormancy. Unfortunately they’ve had cold weather. We’ve had warm temps, that’s just the way the jet stream works.”
Beard said that the Southeast has not experienced an average winter.
“There have been some cold snaps, but mostly it’s been very mild,” he said, “and that’s forced the budding out of peach trees and strawberry plants.”
The Extension agent also said that there has been an increase in interest of farmers for corn and wheat crops as evidenced by a large crowd at a recent corn meeting, the first in some time.
The planting season is just around the corner for most area farmers. Cooler temperatures at the present time, for the most part are okay, but more rain and milder weather might be on a farmer’s wish list for the spring.
