Damage to the Washington apple crop caused by a cold snap earlier this month should not be as significant as first feared.

Temperatures fell to -8.9°C on the nights of October 10 and 11, but Todd Fryhover, president of the Washington Apple Commission said: “The net damage to industry is negligible as most apples will be harvested, but marketed in a more proactive way…The Granny Smith, Fuji, Braeburn and Cripps Pink crops were mostly still being harvested. Depending on the district, Red Delicious could have been harvesting also.’

He added that the Golden Delicious and Gala harvests are now complete in the state: the US’s largest producer of apples. However, both varieties are down on estimated volumes. Fryhover said: “The industry anticipates all Washington varieties will harvest less than estimate with the exception of Red Delicious which will exceed estimate. Overall we fell the Washington crop could be down five per cent compared to the August 1 estimate of 107 million bushels.”

Topics