Maine's small but growing peach industry has been a hit at farmers' markets in recent years. But unfortunately, that's not likely to be the case this year as around 90 percent or more of the Northeastern peach crop from Rhode Island and Connecticut to New Hampshire and Maine didn’t survive the cold months.
Ironically, the milder-than-usual December may be to blame, says tree fruit specialist Rene Moran with University of Maine Cooperative Extension.
“The long lingering fall, the warm temperatures, that caused the peaches not to acquire any winter hardiness, so they got zapped when the temperatures dropped in January,” she says.
Moran says some growers in Maine are reporting a complete crop loss on peaches.
For other tree fruits, Moran says plums fared slightly better.
Apples — a much bigger crop in Maine — also ran into some trouble in the southern part of the state, due to a warmer March and then a surprise freeze in April, which caused some injury to the buds. But Moran says she’s cautiously optimistic that Maine will see an average apple season.
