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Apple Agriculture and Weather Change Page 1 Apple Agriculture and Weather Change To sustain and enhance human life, we must cultivate products that will provide us with energy. Agriculture dates back thousands of years and has been perfected with the help of science and persistent farmers. This practice alone contributes over twohundred billion dollars to the United States economy each year (EPA, 2013). Each state has it’s own place for agriculture, whether it be for livestock, crops, or fishery. More specifically, New York State is the leading agricultural state with a contributing factor of 4.7 million dollars alone (DiNapoli, 2012). Apples are New York’s largest fruit crop ranking this State as the second in the nation for apple production. Apple farms in New York have been a way of life for centuries and require specific climate to be able to produce this magnificent fruit. Currently, changing climate in New York State is creating both economic and agricultural challenges which can be detrimental for the entire nation. Farmers in New York State are being directly effected by the climate change. Since 1988, temperatures have raised 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit annually which are having extreme effects on the overall yields of apple farms (Archer, 2010, p. 43). Although temperature is an important factor in farming, precipitation is another key player. Farmers rely on a certain amount of rain each growing season and if there is too little or too much, it can create unwanted outcomes for the farmer and the consumer. As temperatures increase, evaporation increases. This vapor meets cold air and condenses to form a liquid. This liquid accumulates to form clouds and once it reaches total saturation, the droplets must be released to form rain, snow, or hail (Archer, 2010, Apple Agriculture and Weather Change Page 2 p. 47). According to Cornell University and their 2011 Synthesis Report, by the year 2080 annual temperatures are projected to increase by 7 degrees F followed by a precipitation increase of 10 percent in upstate New York (See figures A-C). These factors have been linked to not only decreased apple yields but also a change in the apple’s growing season. The growing season is the period of which plants and crops grow successfully. A normal growing season for apples averages about 145 days which is the number of days between the last frost of spring and the first frost of winter. The length of the growing season is event driven and is solely dependent on specific cold weather events. Because an apple’s growing season depends on cold weather events, an increase in average temperature does not necessarily imply an increase in growing season. Once the last frost of spring occurs, apple orchards start to flourish and go in to full bloom, showing their beautiful white buds. This is the key time for development of the fruit and requires the pollination of bees. Studies show that spring bloom is coming earlier based on plant response (Markham, 2006). Studies show since the early 1900s, there has been a rapid advance in spring bloom of 2 days per decade. While spring bloom is showing up sooner, fall maturation is coming later due to warmer weather. Apple trees need cold weather towards the fall for color change and the maturation of flavor. Farmers are finding fall to be warmer than in past years which is producing more bitter apples. During fall maturation, apples take advantage of the cold to perfect it’s flavor profile and produce more sweet and crisp product (Ledford, 2013). This rapid advance in the growing season can create an unwanted product but the most devastating reality is fruit loss is increasing drastically with increased temperatures. According to Cornell Apple Agriculture and Weather Change Page 3 University, the three leading causes of fruit loss is weather damage, pests, and lack of pollination. Apple trees are very adaptable to many weather conditions. They can go days with saturated, wet soil and also a couple of days with limited water supply. Recently, though, extreme weather damage is a concern for all upstate farmers (Wolfe, 2012). If it is too hot with decreased precipitation, farms need to have back up water supply and equipment to get water to the crops. Severe droughts are of major concern for small apple farms that do not have a proper irrigation plan or equipment. Larger farms plan for droughts by creating man made ponds and having irrigation tubing and sprinklers to water the apple trees. Droughts are the only weather related damage that farmers can be on top of and prevent minimal product loss. Severe flooding and frost damage are two conditions in which farmers have limited control over. Upstate New York has been having unprecedented rates of flooding and the soil cannot absorb the water in enough time to allow the roots of the trees to breathe (Rosenzweig, 2011, p 6). Unfortunately, scientists are predicting that upstate New York will soon have an entirely different ecosystem due to the increased percentage of precipitation and a lot of apple farms will be moved more north. Lastly, extreme change in temperatures during winter will be the most detrimental to apple yields. Where as flooding and drought will at least produce very limited apple yields, warmer winters will create no apple yields. Apple trees are dormant during winter (December-March) because they do not bloom during cold weather. Farmers are noticing weeks of warmer weather, above 32 degrees, in upstate New York. This warmer weather is tricking the trees to believe it is spring which causes them to start to bloom. The problem comes when temperatures return to below freezing Apple Agriculture and Weather Change Page 4 because once the trees bloom, they cannot encounter cold weather again or else they will freeze and die, producing no apple yields the entire spring or fall (US Climate Change Science Program, 2010). With the combination of warmer temperatures and increased precipitation, apple orchards are on the verge of being extinct from the Hudson Valley and the surrounding areas of New York State. Warmer temperatures are creating longer growing seasons which cause a decrease in ideal apple yields. Given the wrong season, warmer temperatures can cause dead blooms for spring, creating no apple yields. An increased amount of precipitation will similarly cause limited to no yields since the roots require oxygen for the fruit. Crops and plants are susceptible to a handful of pests and bugs due to their warm climate and moist soil. Apples are particularly vulnerable to bugs and fungi since the fruit is big which can house many types and because of the duration that the fruit is on the trees. Apple trees are receptive to bugs because the stump of the tree is very moist and can often be shaded. All weeds, pests, bugs, and fungi thrive under warm temperatures, wet climates, and high carbon dioxide levels. Apples are most prone to apple maggots and codling moths. These bugs can deform and oxidize the apple, creating an unwanted appearance by consumers. In total, apple farmers alone in the United States spend close to 13 million dollars a year in pesticides. This is a 45 percent increase since 1990 (Adams, Hurd, Lenhart, 1998, p. 23). These bugs are directly related to global warming because they are appearing in larger numbers with warmer and wetter weather. Pollination is the third lead cause of product loss on apple farms. Because apples are genetically self incompatible, variety of apples and the requirement of bees are Apple Agriculture and Weather Change Page 5 absolutely crucial for apple farms. Many farmers purchase bees in large quantities from bee keepers to ensure proper pollination. Without proper pollination, the fruit will not set in to the bloomed flowers of the apple trees. Ideally, every other spur should have an apple on it by mid June which lets the farmer know if pollination was completed successfully. Bee pollination is a tricky concept because bees will only pollinate in their own ideal weather temperatures and are highly susceptible to toxicity poisoning of the pesticides that are needed to spray on the orchards. Farmers are finding their ability to get bees to pollinate is getting more difficult as weather gets warmer because bee pollination decreases with increased pesticide use but warmer weather brings more bugs to battle with. Plants are a great indicator of global warming because their phenological response are based on a complex integration of temperature, sunshine, rainfall, and humidity. Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is increasing due to not only natural causes but because of green house emissions. This carbon dioxide is creating a blanket over our planet that is having detrimental effects on all aspects of Earth’s nature. More specifically, this carbon dioxide is effecting apple agriculture in upstate New York by creating warmer temperatures and increased percentage of precipitation. Due to these changes that are gradually occurring, many farmers are finding their apple yields are decreasing due to weather damage, pests and bugs, and pollination issues. These three key problems are creating an economic hardship on that farmers because of product loss, pesticide and irrigation costs. The climate crisis that we face needs to be addressed not only for our own survival but for the survival of everything we have grown to love and enjoy.