LAFAYETTE — If you thought the past winter was hard on you, try being a stone fruit bud in the Greater Lafayette area.
For area fruit growers, stone fruit such as peaches, cherries and plums will not be cultivated this season due to temperatures below zero the trees withstood.
Although the lack of peaches this season is unfortunate, Annie's Orchard owner Annie Brummet said, taking hits like this are just part of the fruit growing business.
"We are just kind of in a bad peach growing area, and this does happen," Brummet said. "Peaches are really sensitive, but this winter was enough to take out most stone fruit. It didn't really affect blueberries or apples."
Perry Kirkham, co-owner of Wea Creek Orchard, said their orchard has certainly suffered the same loss, but apples are Wea Creek Orchards' main crop, which he said are doing quite well.
Peter Hirst, professor of horticulture at Purdue University, said peaches at the university's research farm south of Lafayette did not survive the winter, either.