Kentville Research and Development Centre
2022-23 Bud Hardiness Report No. 8 - Nova Scotia
Attached, from Jeff Franklin and Dr. Harrison Wright, is the 8th Nova Scotia bud hardiness report for the 2022-23 year. The Nova Scotia wine grape bud hardiness survey generates a bi-weekly report of the low temperature exotherm (LTE) values over the dormant period (roughly from late October to late April).
Note from the research team: "The three remaining varieties in the survey did not show signs of appreciable acclimation since the last sample date. LTE50 values for Frontenac Blanc and Marquette are very close to the values from February 22, while L’Acadie Blanc may have deacclimated slightly (+0.8 °C) since that date. Temperatures at the Kentville Research and Development Centre for the month of February have been colder than average with a mean daily temperature of -5.1 °C compared to the 25-year average -4.2 °C. We anticipated that this return to traditional winter temperatures would have caused LTE values to decrease, but this was not the case. In past years of the survey, all varieties had reached their deep winter LTE values by early March, so we do not expect any further decreases in LTE values for the rest of the season. The long-term forecast predicts that temperatures will be average or slightly above for the next two weeks."