Southern states face summer without peachesPublished: Wednesday, May 31, 2017
A warm winter and a late spring cold snap have devastated the peach crop across the southern United States. Georgia's peach yield may be 25 percent of what it was last year, according to the Department of Agriculture. In South Carolina, which trails only California in peach production, the crop may be even worse compared with last year. "It's just really, really bad," said Juan Carlos Melgar, an assistant professor of pomology at Clemson University. "Historically bad." Workers, many of whom are from Mexico, are being laid off or having their contracts cut short. Much of the damage came from a three-day freeze in March that wiped out the blossoms and early fruit. The New England peach crop, however, looks great this year (Kim Severson, *New York Times* <https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/30/dining/peach-crop-georgia-south-carolina.html>, May 30). *— NB* _______________________________________ http://www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
