A Test of the Weather: How the April Cold Snap Will Affect the Harvest of Apricots, Peaches, and Other Fruit Crops
16 April 15:21
ANALYSIS FROM 
The April cold snap has given many Ukrainian farmers cause for concern, particularly those involved in horticulture. Last year’s spring cold snap, which significantly impacted the fruit harvest, is still fresh in their minds. "Komersant Ukrainian" investigated what this year might hold.
April’s weather has already “delighted” us with several records. For example, April 12 in Lviv turned out to be the coldest in the last four decades—thermometers recorded -4.8°C that day. On April 11 in Uzhhorod, the 1995 temperature record was broken: the minimum air temperature that day was -5.0°C. It even snowed in several western regions of the country. The cold snap was caused by a cyclone from Scandinavia: it brought Arctic air to Ukraine, which caused a drop in temperatures in virtually all regions, creating discomfort for ordinary citizens who had already grown accustomed to the warmth of March, and stressing plants and trees, particularly fruit trees.
Weather Reality
Climate norms are changing, and what was not long ago considered an anomaly is becoming reality. A warm March and a cool April, along with various temperature records, are manifestations of this reality. As, incidentally, are April frosts. Tetyana Adamenko, head of the agrometeorology department at the Ukrainian Hydrometeorological Center, explains.
“Actually, April and May frosts are typical for our climate and occur every year. This year, the frosts weren’t just occasional—they were everywhere. And they were quite severe. This is definitely stressful for plants, which, thanks to the warm March—and March was very warm here, one of the warmest in the last 30 years—had accumulated enough effective heat to ensure early blooming. In other words, early flowering has begun here. Not extremely early, but early. It began earlier than the long-term average. During this year’s frosts, the air temperature dropped to -1.4°C, and in the western regions even to -5.7°C. These are air frosts, which are the most harmful. Frosts of this intensity during the growing season are classified as a natural meteorological phenomenon of the second level of danger,” the expert notes.
According to her, the extent of damage to plants and, consequently, the resulting crop losses depend on the intensity of the frosts: how low the temperature dropped, how long it lasted, and what stage of development the plants were in. Tetyana Adamenko, head of the agrometeorology department at the Ukrainian Hydrometeorological Center, explains that apricots are the most vulnerable to temperature drops because they begin to bloom very early, earlier than all other fruit trees, and, as a rule, are affected by frosts every year.
“As of today, according to data from our meteorological stations, mass blooming is occurring in the southern part of Ukraine. But in sheltered areas, it is also observed throughout the rest of the country. There is no apricot blooming yet in the western regions, where the frosts were most intense—the air temperature was 5–7 degrees below zero, which is a very severe frost. But, thank God, nothing was blooming there. In general, it is a bit too early to talk about the extent of crop losses today. No frosts are forecast for the next 10 days. But the weather is such that something similar could happen even in May,” says the expert.
“Cautious” optimism
The fact that, in addition to April frosts, May frosts are also possible is indicated, for example, by last year’s experience. May 2025 became one of the coolest months in recorded history for some regions of Ukraine. At that time, air from the northern latitudes caused a lot of trouble for farmers. Ivan Yarmolyuk, owner of the “Vidrodzhennia” farm in the village of Petrykivka, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, remembers this well. His farm has over 100 hectares of land planted with apricot, peach, plum, and cherry orchards.
“Last year, the orchard didn’t yield a harvest because there were several waves of frosts in late April and early May. Temperatures dropped to minus 9 degrees. Even seasoned agronomists with gray hair, who’ve been working in horticulture for about 50 years, can’t recall such frosts. It was brutal. The tree, so to speak, ‘took a break’ then, gathering strength. And so now, as we say, in our own simple way, the tree is primed for a harvest. We hope nothing will get in the way of that,” says the farmer.
According to him, the condition of the trees after winter is good or satisfactory. And the April cold snap, fortunately, also did not cause any problems. Farmer Ivan Yarmolyuk continues.
“The most problematic period in terms of threats is flowering. That is, the flowers suffer first and foremost. They can still withstand minus one, but minus two is already critically bad for the flower. If there are fruits, however, they can withstand both minus two and minus three. For example, an apricot fruit can withstand temperatures as low as minus four or even minus five. Speaking of our region, the temperature here was around zero, meaning there were no frosts as such. And at that time, only the apricots had begun to bloom. Everything else hadn’t bloomed yet,” notes the expert.
He reminds us that apricots bloom first, followed by peaches, then plums and cherries, and finally apples and pears. Ivan Yarmolyuk, owner of the “Vidrodzhennia” farm, hopes for a good harvest of all fruit crops in the Dnipropetrovsk region.
“We’re expecting, for example, when it comes to stone fruits, to get a cherry harvest of 20 tons per hectare, 30 tons of apricots, maybe 40 tons of peaches, and even 40–50 tons of plums per hectare. In other words, all of this will definitely be available in the markets,” says the farmer.
Speaking of optimistic hopes for this year’s harvest and recalling last year’s experience, when frosts threw a wrench in everything, Ivan Yarmolyuk adds:
“Either we’ll get through it, or we’ll have to fight. There are plenty of ways to withstand natural challenges. We, for example, work with varieties that are more resilient. For instance, there are imported apricot varieties that bloom a little later than domestic ones. We can use overhead irrigation. Smoke screening. We use heat generators in the orchards. One generator, for example, protects three to five hectares of orchards,” the farmer explained.
But in the near future, such measures to protect the harvest will apparently not be necessary. According to the forecast of the Ukrainian Hydrometeorological Center, light rain is expected on April 16–17 in the western and northern regions, on April 17 in the central regions, and on April 18 across most of the country. Nighttime temperatures will range from 3–8°C, and daytime temperatures from 12–19°C. In other words, no frosts are expected. At least, not yet.
Author: Serhiy Vasylovych
