Scientists raise alarm about the future production of beloved fruit: 'Adversely impact the yield ... sweetness, color'

A new study from Washington State University is casting a shadow on the future of agriculture, according to Labroots. Early on, researchers explained what they're measuring in their paper: "Changing climate risks for high-value tree fruit production across the United States."

"To evaluate the overall impact of changes in multiple metrics, we define a potential climate damage index (PCDI) that synthesizes the six key climate metrics outlined in section 2.2. PCDI is the number of climate metrics that show trends in a direction that has potential to adversely impact the yield, quality aspects such as sweetness, color, cosmetic damage, storability or other characteristics that affect marketability."

What's happening?

Researchers examined 40 years of climate data and cross-referenced it with production data from select apple orchards. The six metrics they examined were:

● Cold degree days
● Chill portions (number of colder hours an apple tree needs to be dormant)
● Last day of spring frost 
● Growing degree days (GDD, number of days above a certain temperature that are conducive for apples to grow)
● Extreme heat days (daily maximum temperature over 34 degrees Celsius, or 93.2 degrees Fahrenheit)
● Warm nights (daily minimum temperatures over 15 degrees Celsius, or 59 degrees Fahrenheit) 

The study zeroed in on the three top-producing regions in America: Yakima in Washington, Kent in Michigan, and Wayne in New York. Yakima County is home to more than 48,800 acres of apple orchards and has seen harmful trends in five of the six metrics measured. The other regions suffered in at least three out of the six measurements. 

Why is apple agriculture important?

The United States produces roughly 260 million bushels of apples a year. Besides being healthy food for Americans, fruit is also America's fourth-highest agricultural export. Decreasing yields due to climate would ultimately increase costs for consumers.  

"We shouldn't take the delicious apples we love to consume for granted," said report author and climate scientist Deepti Singh. "Changing climate conditions over multiple parts of the growth cycle pose potentially compounding threats to the production and quality of apples.

"Moving forward, it would be helpful to think about adaptations at different stages of apple growth that can minimize overall harmful impacts."

What's being done about the changing climate in agriculture?

Washington State University is involved in the Specialty Crop Research Initiative, a $75 million grant fund aimed at researching adaptation measures. Netting and evaporative cooling are some methods farmers are already using to keep their apples from getting sunburned.

While agricultural adaptation is certainly necessary, better still would be addressing the root causes of the changing climate. By reducing our pollution, we can slow the extreme weather patterns that are making life hard for the farmers we rely on. You can help do your part by making sensible changes to your diet.  

Should grocery stores donate food that's past its sell-by date? Yes — as long as it's not bad 🤢 Yes — but only certain foods 🥫 Only if it doesn't cost the store 💸 No — it could lead to problems 👎 Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.

Join our free newsletter for easy tips to save more and waste less, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.