Hail is one of the most short-term devastating weather events that can happen to an apple grower. It's so bad we usually don't like to talk about it. But this year, it has been so widespread -- from New York, to Michigan, to parts of the the Northeast (including New England and mid-Atlantic region) -- that it is likely to put a dent (no pun intended) in the production of marketable apples in the U.S. (On top of a spring freeze which diminished the Washington apple crop.) Hail is a good reason to purchase crop insurance. (Enough said.) Growers who have been hailed usually attempt to make the best of it by hand-thinning out obvious culls (pictured above), but that is a labor-intensive (= costly) input that at best might help them break even. It is truly sad. A few growers have asked me what they should do in terms of a spray program -- particularly for diseases -- when they have been hit by hail? First and foremost, they must apply streptomycin in orchards with a history of/or potential for fire blight infection. This has to be applied within 24 hours of the hail. Other than that, Cornell's Dr. David Rosenberger published a synopsis of what kind of spray program should be maintained in a hail-damaged orchard in Scaffolds Fruit Journal recently.
On the bright side, most growers try to make the best of it, and highlight the fact "we still have apples!" (Which is true.) But it's tough and I feel for them...
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