By Clint Thompson
Georgia peach producers continue to reap the benefits of colder weather to start 2025.
Chill hours are necessary for peaches to flourish. Trees enjoyed temperatures at or below the designated mark of 45 degrees Fahrenheit during last week, according to Jeff Cook, University of Georgia (UGA) Cooperative Extension agriculture and natural resources (ANR) agent for Peach and Taylor counties.
“After last week’s cold, 10 days worth of cold, we should probably be pushing 600 hours, at least mid-500s,” Cook said. “It looks like in the forecast it’s staying fairly cold.”
According to the UGA Weather Network, Fort Valley, Georgia, received 189 chill hours from Jan. 1 to Jan. 11, compared to 145 in 2024. Fort Valley has 562.25 hours dating back to Oct. 1, 2024. Byron, Georgia, has 571.25 chill hours since Oct. 1.
Chill hour accumulation started slowly across the Southeast region, though recent colder weather has allowed temperature totals to surge.
“We started off really slow. We barely got any chill hours before the end of December. The last couple of years we’ve had a good frost at least in October. Normally we’ll get a few hours here and there in November and December. This year it really didn’t amount to much,” Cook said.
Peaches need chill hours to mature. The required chill hours depend on the specific variety growers choose to plant. Some may require as little as 500 chill hours, while others may need as many 800. Chill hours will be recorded until about Feb. 14.
“It’s about another month and a half before we call it the cutoff time when we have to have them. Once we get in the first February, blooms will start swelling,” Cook said.