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By Bobbie Whitehead
Despite drought conditions, apple season has opened in Virginia and North Carolina, two of the top apple-producing states, with an anticipated good crop of sweet fruit.
High summer temperatures along the East Coast may have slowed the apple growth for early varieties but increased the sugar content, according to the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.
Recent rains in the state, however, enabled later maturing varieties to reach normal size.
The North Carolina apple crop “has not been hit as hard by weather problems as the crop in other areas of the Eastern United States” the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services reports on its web site.
Despite drought conditions, apple season has opened in Virginia and North Carolina, two of the top apple-producing states, with an anticipated good crop of sweet fruit.
High summer temperatures along the East Coast may have slowed the apple growth for early varieties but increased the sugar content, according to the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.
Recent rains in the state, however, enabled later maturing varieties to reach normal size.
The North Carolina apple crop “has not been hit as hard by weather problems as the crop in other areas of the Eastern United States” the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services reports on its web site.
Virginia and North Carolina rank among the top U.S. apple producing states.
Regions’ apple crop, harvest look good despite drought
“Apples are big business in Virginia,” said Matthew J. Lohr, VDACS Commissioner, according to a press release. “and it was a great relief to hear that the harvest should be good this year despite the drought.”
In North Carolina, the most popular varieties grown and sold include the Red Delicious, Stayman, Rome and Golden Delicious, but state growers also produce over 40 different varieties in “limited” numbers, the NCDACS reports.
The peak harvest time for North Carolina apples is between August and October, though apples sell in December, January and into February. North Carolina ranks seventh in the United States for apple production with 10,000 “bearing acres of apple orchards,” according to the agriculture department. The state’s apples grow in the Haywood, Henderson, Mt. Mitchell, Northwest and South Mountain regions.
Virginia apple growers, too, raise and sell the Red and Golden Delicious varieties as well as the Rome and Stayman. Virginia ranks sixth in the nation for apple production with producers primarily in the Northern Shenandoah Valley, Central and Southwest regions of the state. Its harvests begin in mid July. Other popular Virginia varieties include the Gala, Ginger Gold and Paula Red.
The VDACS reports that the state has an estimated 18,000 acres of commercial apple production with about “150 commercial growers.”
“In a normal year, we will produce between 5 million and 5.5 million bushels of apples,” Lohr said.
In North Carolina, the most popular varieties grown and sold include the Red Delicious, Stayman, Rome and Golden Delicious, but state growers also produce over 40 different varieties in “limited” numbers, the NCDACS reports.
The peak harvest time for North Carolina apples is between August and October, though apples sell in December, January and into February. North Carolina ranks seventh in the United States for apple production with 10,000 “bearing acres of apple orchards,” according to the agriculture department. The state’s apples grow in the Haywood, Henderson, Mt. Mitchell, Northwest and South Mountain regions.
Virginia apple growers, too, raise and sell the Red and Golden Delicious varieties as well as the Rome and Stayman. Virginia ranks sixth in the nation for apple production with producers primarily in the Northern Shenandoah Valley, Central and Southwest regions of the state. Its harvests begin in mid July. Other popular Virginia varieties include the Gala, Ginger Gold and Paula Red.
The VDACS reports that the state has an estimated 18,000 acres of commercial apple production with about “150 commercial growers.”
“In a normal year, we will produce between 5 million and 5.5 million bushels of apples,” Lohr said.
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