Impact of hot and dry summer on this year's apple harvest

ALTAMONT, N.Y. (NEWS10) - It's the first full day of fall, with the seasonal festivities like apple picking well underway. Following a summer that brought months of hot and dry weather to much of the Capital Region, some apples could be a bit smaller this year, depending on how much water they were able to get.

Fall was definitely in the air Friday, making the perfect weather for people to come out and enjoy the orchards at Indian Ladder Farms.

"I love apple picking. I always used to go when I was little with my family, and so it’s nice that it’s been brought into my college experience too," said Logan Lis, a UAlbany student who visited Indian Ladder Friday afternoon with fellow members of the university's Albany Business Leader Emerging organization.

Friday's cool air sharply contrasted with the hot and dry conditions that were prevalent through much of the summer. That weather had led to some concerns about this year's apple harvest.

"It was a little bit dicey for awhile, because the apples were a little bit small," said Laura Ten Eyck, manager at Indian Ladder Farms.

The Altamont farm had to irrigate their apple trees more frequently this year. But the crop has also benefited from the rainy end to summer, "And it hasn’t been too much rain. I mean it’s been a lot of rain, but it’s worked out, so everything has really caught up on the water, and the apples are really looking great," Ten Eyck said.

Recent temperature trends have also been more favorable for the apples to catch up to any shortcomings they experienced earlier on.

"The apples like it to be warm and sunny during the day and cool at night, and that helps them ripen," Ten Eyck explained.

Even still, when you go out apple picking this year, you could notice some apples are smaller than usual. But, that might not necessarily be a bad thing. The smaller size can help the fruit concentrate the sugar, bringing a much sweeter flavor, "It definitely is an improved flavor quality," says Ten Eyck.

Ten Eyck said the dry weather was more of a concern to field crops like pumpkins and squash. The recent snap of rainier weather has also helped them to grow better, with several more weeks to go before their peak harvest.