Jason Londo

Associate professor of fruit crop physiology and climate adaptation

Jason Londo, associate professor of fruit crop physiology and climate adaptation at Cornell AgriTech, says there is no cause for concern about frost damage yet.

Londo says:

“It sure has been an interesting winter and early spring. I’m sure some people are getting a little nervous about the warm weather we’ve had over the last couple of days. We are seeing some early evidence of budbreak starting in very early ornamental species, but not much yet in fruit crops. In Western New York, there has been some early bud swell in Concords, so they are ready to go if it gets consistently warm.

“Looking at the extended forecast, it looks like it will stay cool enough, particularly with nighttime temperatures below freezing, to keep things buttoned up. We also had a nice cold winter, so the plants developed a lot of freeze defense. That means it takes a bit more warmth to trigger budbreak.

“What I’m watching for is another set of warm days back-to-back with a cold front following behind, which could set us up for frost damage. Right now, I don’t see that, but we’ll see what April brings.”