frost-protection
Frost protection encompasses the strategies and physiological mechanisms plants use to withstand freezing temperatures, including cold acclimation, ice nucleation control, and cellular dehydration tolerance. Understanding these processes is critical for plant science because frost damage can devastate flower buds, fruit set, and yield in temperate crops, particularly during vulnerable stages like spring bloom. Research in this area informs both breeding for cold-hardy cultivars and practical orchard management techniques that minimize crop loss from unexpected frost events.
open_in_new WikipediaPubMed · 2026-07-09
Spraying cherry and apple trees with ethephon in autumn can delay flowering by up to two weeks, potentially protecting blossoms from late spring frosts made more common by climate change. The effect was strongest in one cherry variety and minimal in apples, suggesting growers need cultivar-specific strategies.
Ethephon delayed flowering in cherry cultivar Kordia: only 56-63% of buds were in bloom on April 9 vs. 88% in controls.
Apple cultivars Elstar and Kanzi showed no significant flowering delay at either ethephon concentration or timing.
Final fruit set in Kordia dropped from 16% to 6% in the late-high treatment, but other treatments caused no significant yield loss.
