My buddy over the at the daily newspaper, John Boyle, had a story today that a bunch of other media outlets have picked up on and recycled — the story of the incredible shrinking apple. Boyle quotes farmers as saying the severe drought this year means apples will be a lot smaller than normal, which isn’t good.
Last year, if you’ll recall, the drought was good for apples — it made them sweeter, according to a couple of stories by WLOSer Sherrill Barber. Guess it all just depends on how you look at it, right?
ASHEVILLE (AP) — Some western North Carolina apple growers are concerned that the drought will result in smaller fruit in this year’s crop.
The lack of rain has resulted in smaller apple in the 6,146 acres of apple orchards in Henderson County, the Asheville Citizen-Times reported today.
Processors and growers want fruit that are at least 2½ inches in diameter.
“This year you’re probably looking at 70 to 80 percent of them that are going to be that size – at least 2½ inches,” said Adam Pryor, president of the Blue Ridge Apple Growers Association.
“If we get a little bit of water in the next week or so, that could change. There’s still time for them to put some size on.”
Pryor’s family orchard in Edneyville has about 100 acres of apple trees.
Henderson County’s orchards were hit by a spring freeze in 2007 that cut production receipts to $12.8 million, down from $22.8 million in 2006.
Harvesting of Gala apples already has begun, although the busiest harvest time is after Labor Day.
County extension agent Marvin Owings said the size of the individual fruit will depend on how much growers thinned their trees in the spring. Thinner trees result in larger fruit, Ownings said.
Owings said apples that are 2½ inches or larger bring $10 to $13 per 100 pounds; smaller apples bring about $6 per 100 pounds.
Henderson County was one of 21 counties in southwestern North Carolina listed Thursday in the “exceptional” drought category by the U.S. Drought Monitor. Exceptional is the worst category.
The monitor said 16 western counties are in the extreme drought category, and 12 central and western counties are in severe drought. Thirty-four counties across central North Carolina are in moderate drought.