WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Some Hoosier fruit crops will be reduced this year because they budded early and were hit with freezes in April and May, when they were at a sensitive stage.

“We were early because it was a really warm February and March, and plants budded out,” said Bruce Bordelon, Purdue University extension specialist in small fruits. When April and May weather turned closer to normal, he said, a series of freezes damaged some fruit crops, affecting the entire state. “Damage is pretty widespread across the region,” Bordelon said. “Growers all suffered damage somewhere somehow.”

But, he said, damage was spotty, with some growers losing an entire apple or peach crop, while others were spared.

“The peach crop is down from previous years because of the freeze,” said extension tree fruit specialist Peter Hirst. “For some growers it’s been an extremely difficult year. Other growers have had a wonderful year.”

The variability, he explained, lies in the topography of the orchard. Trees planted on high spots fared better than those on low-lying ground because cold air drops and accumulates in low areas. In high areas, or on slopes, it moves out faster, leaving behind less damage.

“Apples are pretty much in the same boat as peaches,” Hirst added.

Pete Slowik, who owns Pete’s Peaches near Plainville, raises stone fruits and asparagus. The business currently is selling peaches, he said, and will have them for the rest of the week before there’s a break until the next variety ripens.

“We did suffer some damage on the April 11 freeze,” he said, estimating about 50 percent of his crop was damaged. “Even today there are still frozen peaches on the tree that haven’t fallen off yet. They’re probably the size of the last joint on your finger.

“We’ve got about half a crop. We’re really fortunate to have what we do have. Anywhere the ground was low or flat, there’s basically no fruit. It all froze. Anywhere you had elevation or slope where cold air could get out of there, we have a full crop.”

Hail damage later dinged about 10 percent of his peach crop, Slowik added. He said the peaches were small at the time, and leaves deflected some of the hail, so the damage wasn’t too extensive.

His cherry crop was not so fortunate, nor was the rest of Indiana’s sweet cherry crop, according to the Purdue specialists. “All the sweet cherries froze,” Slowik said. “They froze right on the tree and then fell off.”

The dry weather, which Slowik said  affects the fruit in several different ways, is beginning to concern him now. “We have no subsoil moisture, so as fruit tries to swell out, it hurts the size,” he explained.

It also speeds the ripening process because the trees want to shed the fruit, Slowik said.

“We’re approaching the bud initiation period for next year,” he continued. “The peaches set buds in July for the next year. It’s a critical period because if it’s too dry, it could prevent bud initiation. We welcome those midsummer rains whenever we can get them.”

Hirst said the quality of fruit is good this year and he hopes people will venture out to their local farmers’ markets to get some. “Dry weather is actually good for tree fruits,” he said. “The sugar is more concentrated, so they’re sweeter.”

Indiana’s small fruits have been at the mercy of Mother Nature, as well.

“Grapes are kind of a bright spot,“ Bordelon said. “All shoots that were out were killed, but they still have fruitful buds. Grapes have the capacity to be fairly productive. Growers pruned light so they would have more secondary buds. Blueberries are a little more cold-tolerant, but not as much as we got.”

One blueberry grower, he added, ran overhead irrigation on 16 nights and saved a 20-acre planting, but he invested much in diesel and water costs. Another blueberry farm didn’t have enough crop left after the freezes to open this season. Overall, Bordelon said, the Indiana blueberry crop was significantly reduced this year. “Bramble growers have a good crop,” he said.