Crops beat weather

Staff Reports
The Collegian

Fresno State crops appear to have escaped damage despite a cold spell over the weekend that had the potential to cause major problems for some plants.

“It is too early to say what the damage is,” Ganesan Srinivasan, Director of Agricultural Operations said.

“Judging from the first look it doesn’t look like we’ve been hit that hard.”

Srinivasan added that some long-term damage was possible to crops that currently have blossoms, like almonds, but that while some browning of the blooms seems to have occurred the crops seem to have survived virtually unscathed.

Valley farmers were on guard over the weekend as temperatures were predicted to fall below 30 degrees.

Temperatures lower than freezing for a period longer than several hours can result in frost forming on plants which can be damaging to crops in certain stages of development.

Low temperatures can also affect the bees that many growers rely on in the spring to pollinate their crops.

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