ATLANTA (AP) - Warm winters have been devastating for Georgia's peach crop in years past - and there are fears that this winter could be another one.
WABE Radio reports that Georgia growers produced less than a quarter of the peaches in 2017 than they did last year due to the warm weather. Will McGehee, the marketing director for the Georgia Peach Council, called it catastrophic.
Peach trees must go dormant to grow fruit, and they need chilly temperatures for that to happen.
Now, the state's peach growers are concerned about the possibility that this winter could be another warm one.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said the climate pattern known as La Niña may form. That typically means a drier and warmer winter in Georgia.
