Officials Say 10 Per Cent Of County's Apple Crop Damaged Or Lost In Recent Hail Storm

APPLE CROP TEN PER CENT LOSS

 Penny Size Hail Stones

     Marvin Owings with the Co-Operative Extension Service tells WHKP that's it's now estimated that ten per cent of Henderson County's multi-million dollar apple crop was damaged or destroyed by last week's hail storm that dumped penny size or larger hail stones on an area stretching from Fletcher in northern Henderson County, through Fruitland and Edneyville, and toward Sugarloaf Mountain. 

     Owings said most of the apples involved were ready for picking and went, as Owings put it, from prime commercial quality...to juice apples in less than half an hour.

     It was primarily the northern and northeastern part of the county that was effected by the storm.  Some varieties of apples had already been harvested.  Still other varieties (like Rome Beauties) will be harvested later.