Recent cold temperatures around the state, but in eastern NY especially, have left fruit growers with damage across almost all tree crops. Four separate cold events caused significant damage to developing fruit buds, blossoms and developing fruit - depending on your location. April 12, 17, 19, and 23 - with the 23rd being the coldest - all brought temperatures in eastern NY into the mid to low 20s. Stone fruit was probably hit the hardest with damage to peaches, sweet cherries, and apricots being significant. Apricots were hurt the most with tart cherries and plums doing the best. Some of this damage  is location dependent with locations further south receiving warmer temps and therefore less damage, while locations north and west were colder and received more severe damage. The coldest temperature recorded from a reliable weather station was 20.8F in the central Catskills on 4/23. In the Hudson Valley proper (on 4/23), 24.1F was the coldest temperature recorded with 22.4F in outlying areas (4/19). These temperatures being the coldest in a series of cold nights.

If you look at the cold temperature charts, most tree fruit was in the 50-90% damage range depending on stage of development and low temperature. However, these charts do not define or illustrate reality in all its natural glory. Over the years, I've come to realize that temperature and phenology are just two factors at play when it comes to cold damage. Among the others are - how fast did the temp drop, what was the temp before, how long did it stay at its lowest, how quick did it rise after, phenology, crop, variety, overall weather patterns before/after, nutrition and overall health status, etc.? The saving grace in all of this is the fact that we have generally had very cool conditions ongoing during this entire period. And as miserable as it has been for us upright ambulatory organisms, it was important for holding trees back and preventing a total loss. For the Finger Lakes and western NY, we have been so much more delayed and we never reached the bitter temperatures that eastern NY reached, we're still in fine shape. In fact, our temps never dipped below the upper 20s (27F is the coldest I can find in my area) in the fruit growing areas. In the end, I think we all dodged a bullet. the Hudson valley did sustain some damage and needs to do what it can to weather the next few weeks and hope for the best. That said, we do still have 3 weeks to go before can begin to truly relax.

These recent bouts of cold have underscored something I have been stressing for years - we need to be more prepared for these uncertainties. Climate change doesn't just mean abysmally hot summers, it can also mean variable temp winters and sudden or even prolonged drops in temps in early spring. So what to do?

1. Site selection - do not plant in frost pockets or in perennially cold areas. Of course, the ground you've got is the ground you've got.

2. Crop Insurance - even basic CAT insurance can be worthwhile. I can speak in more depth to this point if needed, but suffice it to say that crop insurance, while a difficult program to work with (at times), can be a real lifesaver in bad years.

3. Heat - heaters, fans, and undercanopy sprinklers can bring enough of a buffer to give 3-4F+ protection against the coldest temps. There are numerous approaches from fires, smudge pots and vineyard candles to orchard fans and propane heaters. There is the ever-enticing Frostdragon. This Rutgers document is a pretty good summary of frost control approaches and goes into economics, as well as other tools I don't cover here.

4. Cover - and by this I mean clouds or (in the case of fires for heat) smoke. This cover holds heat in and prevents cold from dropping into your orchard.

5. Right Crop, Right Variety - don't plant a crop or variety in your area if it just doesn't seem appropriate. Late blooming cider apple cultivars are pretty important to being able to grow in these uncertain times.

6. Cold/Frost Preventing Sprays - OK, so they don't really prevent frost or cold damage, they can provide buffer. Pure water freezes at 32F. However, water + antifreeze (in a car) can prevent issue down to -40F or colder. The simple application of nutrient salts or sugars that are absorbed or adsorbed onto the surface of the tree can reduce ice nucleation and/ reduce freezing of cellular contents (where the real damage is done). Also, certain strains of Pseudomonas bacteria can reduce ice nucleation on the surface of plants and so the use of certain microbial sprays can also add to your arsenal of preventative sprays.

7. Biodynamic sprays - it has long been practiced that the application of Valerian spray before and after a frost event can provide some modicum of protection against ice nucleation. Like anything else this is no silver bullet. But in the right circumstances - mild cold with frost - it can help "warm" the area around the plants.

8. Recovery - what you do after a cold/frost event is just as important as what you do before. In a year like this where we have multiple cold events, the application of nutritional sprays (B, Zn, and N) can help the plant repair damaged tissue and prevent further decline in tissue health. These sprays will not bring tissue back from the dead, but it can help it repair and remain viable. Other things would be to prevent further damage (see #2-7 above), reduce pruning (savor the remaining viable buds), and reduce ground fertilization (growing too fast can reduce the healing process). 

9. Monitoring - Of course, none of this will work if you don't monitor your weather especially when you KNOW cold nights are coming. Cornell's NEWA site, individual weather stations (Hobo), hand-held devices (Kestral), and even simple thermometers can help you better understand the cold patterns in your orchard and to be prepared.

The damage for this year is what it is. But for those of us in the Finger Lakes and for everyone in eastern NY, there are still 3-4 weeks left where frost and cold are still possible. Taking steps early can help prevent issues later. Be prepared.

Is Algae the Key to Better Crop and Soil Health?
Purus Algae CV-10 Potential

Chlorella vulgaris is an algae native to Asia.  When dried, its composition is 45% protein, 20% lipids, 20% carbohydrate, 5% fiber, and 10% vitamins & minerals. This product is grown in laboratory conditions without the addition of a material amount of nitrogen.  Clearly the algae is harvesting atmosphere nitrogen.  How this process continues in the soil after application is not understood but in some way it is benefiting the soil and has been documented to increase crop yields between 30% and 100%.

The effect is not simply nitrogen but seems to be more balanced growth as shelf-life is also markedly increased.  South Korean studies documented strawberry increased shelf-life of three weeks and similar results on treated cherries. 

Anecdotally the product seems to have significant disease suppressing capacity.  It is unknown whether this stems from a fungicidal action or if the algae is out competing other organisms. 

Purus algae CV-10  trial guidelines

Our object in the spring of 2020 is to evaluate the product in multiple locations and crops to see how it performs in the NY environment.

Usage considerations:

• Application rate is 7 ounces per acre.  Over rate application has been reported to have negative results.
• This product contains living micro plants and as such cannot be combined with any harsh materials.
• In most cases it should be applied by itself.  The exceptions would include other biological inoculants and some stimulants.
• If applied through an herbicide sprayer pre-cleaning is essential.  This product has no tolerance to any herbicide. 
• Insecticides will likely not harm it, fungicides are questionable.  Until we know more it is recommended to thoroughly clean out fungicide sprayers before applying CV-10.
• We expect this product may have its greatest impact on nitrogen loving crops, although it is very likely increasing soil biology and the availability of many nutrients.
• Frequency of application has determined success in trials.  Recommendations are to apply once a week on most crops.
• Significant anti-insect & anti-disease properties have been reported but are not well quantified.  If you wish to test the product in these aspects we recommend keeping a close watch on the trial and be ready to intervene with other methods.

Produce crops:

Start with broadcast spraying two applications a week apart before planting if possible.  After planting the product can be applied through drip or as a foliar every 7 to 10 days.  For high-value crops full rate could be applied both ways. 

Fruit trees:

If conducting a full trial including potential plant protection aspects of the product using an airblast sprayer every seven days is recommended.  Adjust the sprayer so that the soil receives a significant portion of the material.

If you are using CV-10 only as a soil amendment apply to the soil with a clean herbicide type sprayer.  Every 7-10 days would be ideal but there needs to be at least a one-week differential between CV-10 and an herbicide, two weeks would be better.

Broad acre crops:

Ideally apply two applications pre-plant a week apart then every 7-10 days as long as you can get across the crop.  CV-10 may not be practical for all broad acre crops but if it can replace enough other inputs the extra applications could be realistic.  

For more information contact Cayuga Ag at: Harold Schrock 315-723-1681 or Rod Porter 607-227-0836.

Disclaimer: Know Your Roots LLC has not tested or even worked with this specific product yet. However, the use of many biological organisms including algae is becoming increasingly important to soil and plant health, productivity and likely nutritional quality. For this reason, the use of Purus Algae is something we can support in trials and expanded to full production once proven safe and effective.