04/30/1996

Cold Weather, Budget Cuts Hamper Ag Research at Clanton

CLANTON, Ala.- Successive late winter and early spring freezes significantly reduced peach production throughout the Southeast. Cold weather, combined with budget reductions, also have taken a heavy toll on fruit research at the Chilton Area Horticulture Substation in Clanton, eliminating much needed test-proven data for Alabama growers.

Cold weather virtually eliminated eight peach projects, all the plum research, and will likely reduce both strawberry and blackberry production, according to Jim Pitts, superintendent of the 161- acre Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station research facility.

"The information that our growers need the most seems to be the tests that were hit the hardest. We lost virtually all the peaches in projects with bloom thinning, pruning, and frost protection agents, and that's what most growers really need," Pitts explained. While a few early and a few late-maturing peach varieties will have partial crops, the Substation, like most growers, lost a high percentage of their crop to Mother Nature.

"We had two early freezes with high winds, that really hurt peaches up on some of our sloping land. Then successive freezes, where the cold air settled into the lower places took out most of those peaches. We not only had several freezes at the wrong time for peaches, but we also had different types of cold weather that hurt our crop," Pitts said.

The Chilton Area Horticulture Substation has in recent years become a center for strawberry research, but as much as 50 percent of the strawberry crop may have been lost to late freezes. "If the weather stays cool, and we can pick strawberries into early June, we may have a decent crop. But if the weather turns hot and dry, we could end up with a short crop, making it difficult to determine what effect weather and other treatments had on individual strawberry varieties," Pitts noted.

The Substation is also home to the latest commercial blackberry varieties, including several thornless ones that look promising for both home use and pick you own operations. Early observations indicate blackberries aren't blooming as early or as uniformly as in the past, but it's too early to tell what impact the cold weather will have had on them, according to Pitts.

Apple and pear research appears to be less affected by the cold weather. "It doesn't look like our apples were hurt at all by the freezes. We lost a couple of varieties of Asian pears and it's too early to tell for sure about some of the new European pear varieties, but overall, we should have a good year for apple and pear research," Pitts said.

In addition to cold weather, the Substation, like most research units in the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station, is having to operate despite successive budget cuts and subsequent deterioration of equipment. "We seem to spend about as much time repairing equipment and trucks as we do working on test projects." Our labor plans are driven by the peach research done on the station. A light peach crop will mandate a light labor force which will in turn impact the vegetable work we can attempt. In addition to state budget cuts the federal decision to absolve the Ag Weather Office has severely impacted three IPM studies we were planning to do that had as their foundation the weather observation and forecasting capabilities of the National Weather Service," Pitts lamented.

David Teem, associate director of the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station, noted, "The lack of funding for maintenance of facilities and equipment has reached the point of seriously reducing our ability to find research-proven answers for producers. The ultimate losers will be consumers," Teem concluded.

Though few new vegetable tests will be added at the Substation, a full slate of ongoing vegetable projects should provide vital information for commercial growers and home gardeners. Several tests on bell pepper, sweet corn, cantaloupes, tomatoes, and watermelons are scheduled. Much of this research will be on display and discussed at a Fruit and Vegetable Field Day to be held at the Substation on July 17.

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News from:

Office of Ag Communications & Marketing

Auburn University College of Agriculture
Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station
3 Comer Hall, Auburn University
Auburn, AL 36849
334-844-4877 (PHONE) 334-844-5892 (FAX)

Contact Jamie Creamer, 334-844-2783 or jcreamer@auburn.edu
by Roy Roberson

April 30, 1996