News

Growers overcome frost, hail, labor shortage to bring in apples

By Bill Moss, Published: September 4, 2016

Ask Jerred Nix, an apple farmer in the Bearwallow community, about this year’s apple crop and you will get a "depends greatly on the location of your orchard" kind of answer.

“It looks decent,” he said of the outlook. “It’s a mixed bag again this year — hail, frost, freeze. There’s light (yield), there’s heavy. There’s a little bit of everything.”
And that’s just on his farm. It’s a hit-or-miss across the county, too, depending on whether a grower escaped freeze damage in April, hail damage later in the summer or bitter rot damage caused by the recent wet spell.
“I’ve heard different stories,” Nix said. “Everybody you ask has got a different story. They’ve got some of everything.”
Hail damage demoted a lot of fresh fruit to juice or process grade, meaning a much lower price per pound.
“It started out at 12 then 10 or 9 (cents a pound). It’ll be 4 to 5 cents” as more apples ripen and flood the market, he said.

But in the end, neither frost nor hail nor a shortage of labor could stay the noble apple from its appointed round: the place of honor  the 70th North Carolina Apple Festival.

'Challenging weeks'

Agriculture Extension Director Marvin Owings said a series of weather-related issues has cut the crop.
“I would say it’s similar to last year as far as the volume,” he said. “We’ve got all the varieties we normally have. The crop is a little short of a full crop. We have plenty of good quality apples. But we have had some challenging weeks during the summer. We had dry weather until July and then we got into rain and it seems like we’ve had showers or thundershowers almost daily so that’s been a challenge to try to spray and also harvest the fruit between showers.
“Along with those we’ve had a number of hailstorms so that has affected some of the orchards especially the fresh fruit blocks that were really looking good. It’s a difference between $19 a bushel to $3 or 4 a bushel for juice.”
The wet weather promoted the spread of Glomerella, a disease than form rot on the apples and damage the leaves.
“Two years ago we had it so bad it was mainly because of all the rain and last year it was so dry that we hardly even found it,” Owings said. “This year because of all the rain it’s come back with a vengeance, particular on Galas and on some of the Goldens and another variety that is very susceptible is Pink Lady.”
A scientist at the Mountain Horticulture Research Station warned growers about the disease.
“I’ve been hard-pressed to find an apple grower in the region who hasn’t seen at least a few spots of Glomerella in their blocks of Gala or Golden Delicious this year,” Sara Villani, a plant pathologist at the Research Station, told growers in an advisory. “While June was so incredibly dry that I did not think I’d see disease in my fungicide trials at MHCREC this year, July and August have been relentless in regards to rainfall and humidity.”
Villani documented a 30 percent increase in the leaf spot disease, which aside from affecting this season’s fruit can weaken the tree’s ability to generate carbohydrates for next year’s crop. She recommended increased spraying and re-spraying in orchards that had gotten heavy rain.

Labor supply short

Another challenge now that harvest is under way is labor.
“Most growers need more labor,” Owings said. “That’s a big problem for growers as well as vegetables, any of these specialty crops that require labor. Apples, vegetables, small fruit — most all are short as far as labor.”
Nix said he’s heard the same thing.
“Not too good,” he said when asked about the availability of pickers. “Everybody you talk to is short. Tomato guys, they’re short on labor, too.”
Trey Enloe, the president of the Blue Ridge Apple Growers, said the freeze is causing a “quick release” of the fruit, putting more pressure on the harvest.
“We had that freeze early on and the apples seem to be dropping really quick. As soon as they’re ripe we’ve got to go and get ’em.”
It can be a race against time — and the market — to pick fruit, especially early, when North Carolina is ahead of growers in other apple regions.
“We do what we can to keep the ball rolling,” he said. “It started out decent just like it does every year. We have about a 2-3 week window. We generally get a good price early on. Once everybody else starts picking we course correct and we get a little bit less.”
Enloe farms about 100 acres at his Lewis Creek Farm with his dad and uncle.
“We had a lot of rain while we were starting to pick,” he said. “Everything was sped up to be a little early anyway. Couple that with some hail damage and then the rain came through at the worst possible time.”
“I would say overall the volume is probably there but some of the market not going to be the same as it was last year,” Enloe said. “And I think that’s kind true for the whole Eastern Seaboard. We’re a little bit of down this year.”
Farmers are short on labor and short on price but this time of year long on hustle and on hours getting fruit to market. Whether strolling up and down Main Street this weekend, shopping at an apple stand in Edneyville or visiting a pick -your-own orchard, people won’t notice a shortage.
“There will be plenty of fresh fruit around for people to get,” Enloe said.

Apple tasting offered in 500 block of Main

The Cooperative Extension Service and Blue Ridge Apple Growers Association will be conducting the annual Apple Taste Test during the Apple Festival in the 500 block of Main Street in front of Kilwin’s ice cream shop. Festival attendees have the chance to sample a variety of apples and provide feedback. The Henderson County Beekeepers Association will have an educational booth and offer honey samples.