Early Bloom, Early Harvest?

Most people would agree that it has been a wacky spring, weather wise. I guided bus tours throughout local orchards at the annual Adams County Apple Blossom Festival last weekend. However, most of the blossoms had already fallen off the trees due to an early bloom. Spurts of very warm weather in March and early April forced peach blossom about two weeks ahead of schedule and apple blossom about three weeks ahead of schedule. I learned through conversation with some veteran growers that most had never seen a bloom this early in their lives. Initially, the largest concern for growers was that a frost would hit and the vulnerable blossoms would be damaged causing a potentially large crop failure. Fortunately, although minimal frost damage occurred in some places, most growers were fortunate to avoid any frost damage. Early estimates are calling for a full apple crop for Adams County.

The first question that came into my mind was: How early will that crop arrive? It seems logical that the earlier the bloom occurs, the earlier you could expect the fruit to be harvested. This situation was addressed by a colleague of mine at a grower meeting yesterday afternoon. Most of the late summer varieties (Gala, Honeycrisp, etc...) will, in fact, be harvested a couple weeks early. However, this effect will be muted as the harvest season goes along and the Fall varieties will not come in much earlier than when they are normally harvested. The early harvest of the summer varieties could present some interesting marketing opportunities. If packers/shippers will have Gala to sell a couple weeks ahead of when they normally do, it could be a very profitable situation. For most consumers this will be a good thing. I know that I am more than ready for local apples in August.