Crops suffer severe freeze damage
By Deborah Bennett Millen News Editor

Record-breaking low temperatures of Easter weekend took their toll on the county's pecan orchards, leaving budding crops burnt and withered on the trees. Below, This pecan orchard would normally be green, but was left brown and yellow by the Easter freeze.(Staff photos by Deborah Bennett)

The frigid temperatures of Easter weekend took their toll on crops throughout Jenkins County with most suffering severe damage. Young corn plants were left limp and yellow in the fields with budding pecan and peach crops withering on their tree limbs.

"This is the worse freeze damage the county has seen in 45 years," said Wade Parker, Jenkins County Extension Service coordinator.

Temperatures in one pecan orchard dipped to 25 degrees Easter morning, killing the reproductive parts of the plant, Parker said.

"The county has probably lost 60 percent of the normal pecan production," he added.

Corn crops faired no better with 100 percent of the county's crop being affected.

"Sixty percent is severely damaged. There is a glimmer of hope, however. The youngest corn that had only emerged out of the ground for a week will recover quickly. However, older corn will take longer," Parker said.

The county's only peach orchard appears to have suffered 100 percent crop loss with the insides of the young peaches blackened by freeze damage.

The county's only peach orchard appears to have suffered 100 percent crop loss.

"When you cut the young peaches along the equator, there is black tissue inside. That is freeze damage," Parker said.

"They're all gone," he said after examining the small peaches on several trees in the orchard.

Small grains such as wheat, oats and rye suffered a one-two punch.

"The small grain crops were already suffering from extremely dry weather. We won't know the extent of the freeze damage for awhile," Parker said.

Local gardens were also hard hit by the record-breaking dip in the mercury.

"Even those gardeners who covered the crops with plastic lost them," Parker noted. "Potatoes and squash have been se- verely damaged.

While the damage to crops throughout Georgia was severe, Parker noted that the freeze seems to have hit the hardest in North and Southeast Georgia.

Jenkins County Extension Service Coordinator Wade Parker examines a field of corn damaged by the freezing temperatures. The plants appeared green on the inside and may recover.

Preliminary reports from the office of Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Tommy Irvin indicate that most of the apple, peach and blueberry crops across the state were damaged.

"The apple and peach crops in North Georgia were wiped out," said Irvin. "And middle to South Georgia may have 50 percent or less of the peach crop left."

The full extent of the damage may not be known for a while, Irvin said.

On Friday, Gov. Sonny Perdue requested that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) expedite the review of damage reports stemming from the frigid temperatures. He also asked the department to designate eligible counties as agriculture disaster counties, enabling Georgia farmers to have access to low-interest loans and other federal assistance as quickly as possible. The Georgia USDA State Emergency Board will meet May 8 to review the damage assessment reports, and the findings will be forwarded to USDA identifying the counties that are eligible to be declared disaster areas.