Climate Change Connections: Georgia (Peaches)
Climate change is impacting all regions and sectors of the United States. The State and Regional Climate Change Connections resource highlights climate change connections to culturally, ecologically, or economically important features of each state and territory. The content on this page provides an illustrative example. As climate change will affect each state and territory in diverse ways, this resource only describes a small portion of these risks. For more comprehensive information about regional climate impacts, please visit the Fifth National Climate Assessment and Climate Change Impacts by Sector.
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Introduction: The Life of a Peach Tree
Georgia peaches are a delicious summertime treat and an iconic symbol of the state. Peach production has earned Georgia its nickname, the Peach State. Peaches are featured on the state license plate, and “Peachtree” is a common street name. This fruit makes up over 9 percent of Georgia’s fruit and nut production and generated $85 million in economic value in 2021.1
Peach trees are perennial, meaning they produce fruit year after year. In the winter, they stop growing and become dormant to survive the freezing temperatures. In spring, the trees begin to grow leaves, bloom, and eventually produce the season’s peach crop. To successfully grow peaches, trees must be exposed to certain temperatures at the right time.2 If the trees begin to grow too soon, before winter is over, young leaves and buds can be damaged by a late frost. If trees start growing too late into the spring or summer, they won’t be able to produce their full crop of peaches by the time the weather gets cold again in the fall.
Peach trees respond to temperature to coordinate their growth with the seasons. To maintain dormancy in winter, peaches must be exposed to cold enough temperatures for a long enough time, a process known as chill accumulation.3 Without sufficient chill accumulation, the trees are less likely to bloom successfully, get pollinated, and produce high-quality peaches.3 Different peach types, or cultivars, have different chill requirements, so growers can select cultivars best suited to the local climate.
Climate Impacts: Warmer Winters Mean Insufficient Chill and Earlier Blooms
Across the United States, winter temperatures are trending warmer.4 Warmer winters can disrupt the timing of important events for plants and animals, such as budding, flower blooms, hibernation, and migration. For peaches, warming winters can mean decreased winter chill accumulation. Average fall and winter temperatures in Georgia have increased by about 1°F in the past 125 years.4,5 While not every winter is warmer than average, the probability of a warm winter without sufficient chill for many of the cultivated peach varieties has substantially increased.3 By 2050, about 40 percent of winters in Georgia are projected to be so warm that peach chilling requirements will not be met, which could dramatically affect peach production.3
Higher temperatures in the late winter can encourage fruit trees to bloom early, before spring has truly begun.6 Once the flowers bloom, the new growth is vulnerable to any frost that might follow. Recent winter temperature fluctuations have contributed to major crop losses. In 2023, 90 percent of the state's peach crop was lost.7 A shortage of days with cold enough temperatures hindered the ability of some varieties to bloom. Then, unusually warm temperatures in late February encouraged some cultivars to bloom early, only to be devastated by a freeze in March. In 2017, about 80 percent of Georgia’s peaches were lost, in large part due to a damaging March freeze after a warm February.8 The devastating frost in 2017 caused nearly $1 billion in damage for the combined peach and blueberry industries.5 Across the Southeast, climate risks to agriculture can disproportionately affect small-scale and economically disadvantaged farmers.6
Taking Action: Resilient Crops in a Warming Climate
Addressing climate change requires reducing greenhouse gas emissions while preparing for and protecting against current and future climate impacts. Communities, public officials, and individuals in every part of the United States can continue to explore and implement climate adaptation and mitigation measures. In Georgia, farmers and researchers are taking steps to prepare for changing growing conditions, including:
- Diversifying peach varieties. Peach growers in Georgia already grow a wide variety of peaches. Along with satisfying different consumer tastes, this diversity provides some built-in protection against the effects of climate change. Though some cultivars may be damaged during a year of extreme weather, others with lower chill accumulation requirements or more delayed blooming dates may survive and continue to produce peaches. In a changing climate, variety can improve resilience. Growers can maintain crop diversity and select cultivars, such a low-chill varieties, that are well suited to changing conditions in Georgia.2 Modern genetics makes it possible for scientists to study the genes that affect peach chilling and heating requirements.9,10 This research could lead to targeted breeding efforts or even genetic modification to create climate-resilient cultivars.9,10
To learn more about climate change impacts in Georgia and the Southeast region, see Chapter 22 of the Fifth National Climate Assessment.
Related Resources
- EPA Climate Change Indicators: Seasonal Temperature
- EPA Climate Change Indicators: Length of Growing Season
- Georgia State Climate Summary 2022 (NOAA)
References
1 The University of Georgia Center for Agribusiness and Economic Development. (2022). Georgia farm gate value report 2021 (AR-22-01). https://caed.uga.edu/content/dam/caes-subsite/caed/publications/annual-reports-farm-gate-value-reports/2021_GeorgiaFGVReportDec2022%20(1).pdf
2 Luedeling, E. (2012). Climate change impacts on winter chill for temperate fruit and nut production: A review. Scientia Horticulturae, 144, 218–229. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scienta.2012.07.011
3 Parker, L., & Abatzoglou, J. (2019). Warming winters reduce chill accumulation for peach production in the Southeastern United States. Climate, 7(8), id.94. https://doi.org/10.3390/cli7080094
4 EPA. (2022). Climate change indicators: Seasonal temperature. Climate Change Indicators. Retrieved June 11, 2024, from https://www.epa.gov/climate-indicators/climate-change-indicators-seasonal-temperature
5 Frankson, R., Kunkel, K. E., Stevens, L. E., Stewart, B. C., Sweet, W., Murphey, B., & Rayne, S. (2022). Georgia state climate summary 2022 (NOAA Technical Report NESDIS 150-GA). NOAA National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service. https://statesummaries.ncics.org/chapter/ga/
6 Hoffman, J. S., McNulty, S. G., Brown, C., Dello, K. D., Knox, P. N., Lascurain, A., Mickalonis, C., Mitchum, G. T., Rivers III, L., Schaefer, M., Smith, G. P., Camp, J. S., & Wood, K. M. (2023). Ch. 22. Southeast. In C. W. Avery, D. R. Easterling, K. E. Kunkel, B. C. Stewart, & T. K. Maycock (Eds.), Fifth National Climate Assessment. U.S. Global Change Research Program. https://doi.org/10.7930/NCA5.2023.CH22
7 Lutz, M., & Kann, D. (2023, June 5). Slim pickings: Peach crop wiped out across much of Georgia. Chicago Tribune. https://www.chicagotribune.com/2023/06/05/slim-pickings-peach-crop-wiped-out-across-much-of-georgia/
8 Chun, S. E. A., & Changnon, D. (2019). Predicting major peach yield reductions in the Midwest and Southeast United States. Meteorological Applications, 26(1), 97–107. https://doi.org/10.1002/met.1740
9 Chou, L., Huang, S.-J., Hsieh, C., Lu, M.-T., Song, C.-W., & Hsu, F.-C. (2020). A high resolution melting analysis-based genotyping toolkit for the peach (Prunus persica) chilling requirement. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 21(4), Article 4. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms21041543
10 Atagul, O., Calle, A., Demirel, G., Lawton, J. M., Bridges, W. C., & Gasic, K. (2022). Estimating heat requirement for flowering in peach germplasm. Agronomy, 12(5), 1002. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy12051002