The average date at which the last killing frost occurs in the spring
helps to determine the limits in latitude and altitude at which the
pear can be grown in New York. The pear blossoms early, and while both
in bud and blossom the reproductive organs seem able to stand more cold
than those of the peach and sweet cherry, yet even in the most favored
regions for growing this fruit in New York a crop is occasionally lost
from killing frosts, and there are few years in which frost does not
take toll in some part of the State. Damage from frost must be expected
when the commonly recognized precautions in selecting frost-resistant
sites are not recognized. Little or nothing can be done in New York
to prevent injury from frost once trees have been set. Windbreaks,
whitewashing, smudging, and orchard-heaters are all failures in
frost-fighting in this State.
The pear-grower should know how the blooming time of the varieties
of pears he plants agrees in time with spring frosts. To do this he
must have weather data and must know the approximate date of blooming
of varieties. He ought also to be able to synchronize three of these
phases of climate--spring frosts, fall frosts, and the length of the
summer--with the ripening dates of varieties. Data as to the average
dates of spring and fall frosts can be obtained from the nearest local
weather bureau. The accompanying table gives the blooming and ripening
dates of pears grown at the New York Agricultural Experiment Station.
Blooming and ripening dates vary in different parts of the State, and
to make use of the data from this Station the grower must compare the
latitude, altitude, and local environment of his orchard with those of
the Station. Data for the Station is as follows:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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