Unpredictable seasons due to climate change are leading US fruit growers to reconsider their crop choices, after a season of ruined apple harvests.

Eye of the storm: The Southers, owners of an apple orchard in Concord, New Hampshire, saw the devastating effects of unseasonable freezing temperatures in mid-May.
* With their apple trees in full bloom, a sudden freeze turned petals brown and destroyed the developing seeds and cells in the young apples, resulting in a year without an apple crop.

Wider implications: These changes are symptomatic of broader seasonal shifts attributable to climate change, which are affecting fruit growers across the country.
* In New Hampshire, farms at higher altitudes weathered the freeze better than those at lower elevations.
* Similarly, warm January and February temperatures in Georgia led to early peach blooming, which was subsequently killed off by frosts in March.

Expert insights: Jason Londo, a professor of horticulture at Cornell University, studies how fruit crops adapt to human-driven climate change.
* According to Londo, warming fall, winter, and spring seasons are causing trees to bloom earlier, posing an increasing threat as the risk of late freezes persists.

Solutions and future planning: To protect their future crops, growers are considering various adaptive measures.
* These include choosing fruit varieties with fewer chill hours, using wood pulp-based sprays for insulation, and exploring alternative crops such as citrus and olives.
* The Southers, for their part, are considering other sources of income such as events, farm stand sales, and other crops like blueberries and raspberries.

Uncertain future: Though optimistic about next year’s apples, the Southers acknowledge that future farmers at Apple Hill may need to grow different crops due to the increasing unpredictability of weather patterns.

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