By Clint Thompson
Chill hours are looking strong for peach trees in the Southeast. That optimistic outlook should continue over the next month, according to Jeff Cook, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension agriculture and natural resources agent for Peach and Taylor counties.
“I looked at chill hours (early December) and especially what’s projected through February, it looks good,” Cook said. “I feel like that early freeze or frost we had (in October) might have started us into dormancy a little earlier than a lot of the years when we don’t get a frost until November.”
Peach producers are experiencing cooler temperatures and wetter weather conditions amid the current El Niño weather pattern. The combination of the two factors is a positive for growers who are hoping to rebound from last year’s disastrous season.
“There’s some research and talk out there that if you have a lot of moisture in the air and you’re cold, it’s actually better than dry cold as far as chill goes. It’s just better quality chill hours,” Cook said. “I feel like that would be the main benefit for us, the main effect we’d see.”
Last year’s crop was devastated in March following a freeze event, which followed unseasonably warm temperatures in February. The result destroyed the region’s crop.
According to the UGA Weather Network, the recorded chilling hours from Dec. 1 to Jan. 7 in Byron, Georgia, was 344.5; compared to 280.75 last year and 197.5 the prior year. The recorded chilling hours in Tifton, Georgia, during that same time period was 270.75; compared to 243.5 last year and 130.25 the prior year.