It appears southern, western, and central Ohio (reaching toward Mt. Vernon) were affected most by the recent spring freeze. The morning temperatures of April 6 and 7 caused the most flower bud damage.

 

Some orchards are experiencing complete blossom kill (across all varieties) with no fruiting potential left for the 2007 season. This appears to be a once-in-a-generation type of event. Damage ranged from kill of the female flower parts (style, stigma, and ovary) to death of stamens (pollen) plus flower petal kill. This reflects the severity of cold temperatures reached along with the amount of time the temperature was below freezing. In some cases, brownish "frost rings" developed around what would have developed into the apple fruit. In central Ohio even spur leaves are wilted and brown and will likely fall off. Farther south, spur leaves are yellow-brown but look better, suggesting that these slightly older leaves were tougher than the new rapidly-expanding spur leaves in central Ohio. Astonishingly, there are some live peach buds in areas where apple buds were all killed.

 

There will be an apple crop across northern Ohio but growers there have adopted a "wait and see" perspective.  Most northern areas have lost some king bloom. There also appears to be potential for a peach crop in northern Ohio. 

 

We will have additional details on the scope of injury and this year's crop potential as the temperatures warm in the coming weeks. Keep in mind three weeks and a full moon remain before we are past the May 10 "frost-free" date, so the outlook could still change.