By STAN MADDUX

Indiana Correspondent

GALIEN, Mich. — The extent of loss of fruit in Michigan from extreme winter cold won’t be known for several weeks – but peaches in one part of the state have already been deemed practically wiped out.

Mark Longstroth, a fruit educator with Michigan State University extension, estimates the loss of the peach crop in the southwestern part of the state at more than 90 percent. About two-thirds of Michigan peaches are produced in that corner of the state and most of those come from Berrien County.

“We’re all froze out,” said Bob Woods, owner of Springhope Farm near Galien, who explained every bud on his three acres of peach trees just north of the Indiana border fell to the ground instead of becoming fruit.

Longstroth said peach trees in Berrien County are usually protected from extreme bud-killing cold by hilly terrain and northwest winds blowing in milder air from across the warmer waters of Lake Michigan. Temperatures on hills are usually warmer than in valleys where the worst of the cold air tends to settle.

During the polar vortex in late January, he explained wind direction was more from the southwest, blowing warmer lake air further up the coastline where temperatures were only slightly below zero. Temperatures in Berrien County approached minus-20 degrees Fahrenheit and stayed there for a 24-hour period.

Longstroth said peach tree buds start becoming at-risk when the mercury plummets to minus-12, with damage more likely at 15 to 20 below zero. A week later, a second bitter cold wave with more consistent subzero temperatures across the state damaged more peaches and other fruit including wine grapes.

He added there are peach trees with healthy-looking buds in other major producing areas of the state, like Grand Rapids and Traverse City. He said wine grapes probably weren’t damaged much in Traverse City, where half of the state’s grapes are raised.

Berrien County, though, will probably see damage to about two-thirds of its Vinifera grape crop, said Longstroth, who expects injury to some of the other fruit like sweet cherries, apricots, and blueberries. So far, he said the blueberry crop is looking pretty good.

He said apples – better capable of withstanding extreme cold – should fare the best out of all of the state’s fruit. “In the next week or two when they all bloom we’ll have a really good idea how much fruit has been hurt and how we’re doing.”

Woods said he also won’t see any fruit this year on the handful of apricot and plum trees on the small farm and store he has owned for close to 30 years. “They didn’t make it either.”

He expects to lose some of his cherries, especially the varieties more sensitive to weather extremes. Apples from his 12-acre orchard should be fine, though.

Longstroth said it’ll be at least another several months before knowing if any trees or vines will have to be replaced from damage by the cold. He said there have been other periods of extreme cold since 2012, but the one last year in southwestern Michigan was the worst since 1994 when temperatures dipped lower then minus-20.

“The brine was freezing in the pickle vats,” he pointed out.

According to the USDA, Michigan in 2017 ranked 10th in peach and seventh in grape production. In comparison, California raised more than 60 percent of the nation’s peaches and nearly 90 percent of U.S grapes that year.

Michigan was fourth in 2017 for cherry production. About half the nation’s cherries that year came from Washington state, while 35 percent were from California.