<p style="text-indent:0px; line-height:12px;"><span style="font-weight:bold;"> Madison, WI-</span><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">By ANUK Staff<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">3.8.13</p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p>Drought, heat, and other damaging weather conditions significantly impacted 2012 fruit and vegetable crops in Wisconsin, according to A.J. Bussan, Associate Professor of Horticulture at UW-Madison.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><img class="small-cropped-image" src="https://cdn.andnowuknow.com/legacySmallCroppedImages/aj-bussan.jpeg" alt="MORNING BLAST IMAGES - MARCH 8 2013" />Apple production was down for the state this past year. “It depended on when they flowered,” Bussan explained, noting that most of the state’s crop had flowered – and then was destroyed by a frost in late April.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">“It really had a very negative impact on almost all of the tree fruit – 53 percent of the crop we had experienced 80 to 100 percent loss.”<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">Almost all farms experienced at least 20 percent crop loss simply because of the drought and then there was exasperation due to the frost damage over the course of the year.” This resulted in a nearly 61 percent reduction in production from a year ago. There is also some lingering concern that the drought stressed the trees to the point that there is uncertainty on how the crop is going to come through in 2013. [2012’s] affects could be manifested next year in terms of how that crop grows,” Bussan said.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">Cherries had an even worse year than apples and were hit by a “frost at almost the worst possible time that led to a 90 percent crop reduction. They didn’t even open the processing plants,” he said.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">Peas were impacted by heat which caused a decrease in production.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">Cabbage also suffered from the heat, as well as pest issues despite industry efforts to establish the crop.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><a class="btn btn-sm btn-primary col-lg-12" style="white-space: normal;" href="http://www.agriview.com/news/crop/fruit-and-vegetable-crops-struggled-with-weather-events/article_1e102844-8687-11e2-b7e0-0019bb2963f4.html" target="_new">Wisconsin Produce Update</a></p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">
