In response to industry concerns over the cold temperatures this week, we are sharing the latest from our ongoing cold hardiness research at WSU. The table below summarizes the current hardiness for 4 genotypes. These data were collected and analyzed by Jon Magby from samples collected February 20th, 2023 at the WSU-Roza experimental farm (46.2924°N, 119.7268°W). The differential thermal analysis (DTA) method was used to collect these data on dormant buds. The low temperature exotherm recovery (LTER) method was used to determine DB% (the percent of buds that are fully dormant). LTE50 is the temperature at which 50% of floral initials die, while LTE10 is the temperature that 10% die. BAYSprob is a predictive model for the probability of damage (%) if air temperature reaches the predicted (14 °F to 8 °F) for much of the Yakima Valley.
The table is embedded as a picture file. You may need to click on "Show Images" or "enable blocked features" to see it.
Cold hardiness is affected by many factors, and the sensitivity of buds in your blocks may differ from what we are reporting here, even for the same cultivar.
For more information regarding cold damage, visit WSU tree fruit and search for videos and articles on cold damage or hardiness. For example;
