Frost Wrecks Strawberry Crop

Frost wrecks strawberry crop

Gerard Beautieu says he lost thousands of dollars during a single frosty night. Gerard Beautieu says he lost thousands of dollars during a single frosty night. (CBC)

An overnight frost crunched the petals of a Newfoundland farmer's strawberry plants, robbing him of acres of crop he says is worth thousands of dollars.

Gerard Beautieu said 80 to 90 per cent of his strawberries at their flowering peak died when temperatures plunged below freezing Wednesday night in Reidville, on Newfoundland's west coast.

"When you freeze a strawberry flower, you won't have any strawberries on that flower," said Beautieu.

"Last night, I lost well over $10,000."

Clear skies overnight led to the cold temperatures, which according to Beautieu's scientific thermometer, reached minus four degrees Celsius.

On most of the dead flowers the stamen, the male reproductive part of the flower, is black, and the yellow pistils, which normally like a sunny yellow button, are losing their colour as well.

Beautieu said some other flowers were also dead, but hadn't turned colour yet. He said by the end of the day they would also likely turn black.

Beautieu used to have an expensive irrigation system to protect against frost, but said it wasn't economically feasible to use it every season. The only hope, he joked, lies elsewhere.

"If you're not religious when you start I guess you will be before you're finished," said Beautieu.

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/newfoundland-labrador/story/2010/06/18/frost-wrecks-strawberry-crop-618.html#ixzz0rJdmlnRO