"The weather's been great so far and we're hoping to have a good fruit set, but it's got a lot of making up to do if it's going to make up for the last season's harvest," Roxburgh orchardist and Summerfruit New Zealand president Gary Bennetts said yesterday.
Heavy rain showers during harvest in December badly hit last summer's Central Otago cherry crop and spring frosts and a lack of pollination also cut the apricot crop.
Frost alarms have been activated in the past week, as temperatures dropped below zero. Fruit blossom is vulnerable to frost damage so millions of litres of water have been pumped on to the trees to protect the blooms. The water freezes to form a protective layer of ice, stopping the temperature dropping any further within the ice coating.
Orchardists around Alexandra have been frost-fighting for three out of the past five nights and expected another "cracker" frost last night, Earnscleugh Rd orchard co-owner Russell Clayton said.
"But it's been a quiet year so far for frosts - we'd expect to be frost-fighting about 30 times in a year," he said.
Peaches, nectarines and apricots had bloomed but cherries were still in bud.
The weather had been good so far, with warm days following the frosty nights. He said pollination was going well.
Hives were brought in to most orchards during the crucial time for pollination, to ensure there were enough bees. The number of wild bees had declined due to the bee-killing varroa mite.
Mr Bennetts said there had only been one frost in Roxburgh so far, while Cromwell orchardist Mark Jackson said there had been none there.
