 |
||||||
|
Texas A&M University Agricultural Research & Extension Center at Overton |
 Home |
Daily |
Rain |
Chill |
PET |
Average |
|
Chilling hour accumulations |
||||||
| The dormant buds of many plants require a period of cold weather to grow, flower, and develop properly, but requirements vary widely by species. For dormant buds of fruit trees, this is commonly referred to as the chilling requirement. Chilling hours are calculated as a tool for fruit producers to gauge whether their crop has been exposed to cold temperatures for a long enough time period. This table shows chilling hours as recorded at the Overton Center and should provide you with an estimate of chilling hours if you live in northeast Texas. Temperatures can fluctuate from one location to another, however, so the number of chilling hours at your peach orchard may be different than what we have recorded here. For chilling hour data from past years, see the table below, or look at data by month. Several methods exist for calculating chilling hours; two are presented here. |
Chilling Hours for the 2007-2008
Season FINAL COUNT |
||||||
|
Method 1 No. of hours >32/<45 F |
Method 2 No. of hours <45 F |
||||||
| October | 38 | 38 | |||||
| November | 160 | 161 | |||||
| December | 238 | 300 | |||||
| January | 346 | 433 | |||||
| February | 180 | 212 | |||||
| CUMULATIVE | 974 | 1156 | |||||
|
Calculating Chilling Hours |
||||
|
Method 1: chilling hours were calculated by counting the number of
hours between 32 and 45 degrees F, from October 1st through February 28th.
|
Method 2: chilling hours were calculated by counting the number of hours at or below 45 degrees F, from October 1st through February 28th. | |||
| Historical Date of First Frost and Chilling Hour Data | ||||
| Season | Date of First Frost |
First Frost Temperature (F) |
Chilling Hours: Method 1 No. of hours >32/<45 F |
Chilling Hours: Method 2 No. of hours <45 F |
| 2007-2008 |
Nov 23, 2007 (7 a.m.) Nov 16, 2007 (7 a.m.) |
31.6 32.5 |
974 | 1156 |
| 2006-2007 | Nov 3, 2006 (7 a.m.) | 30.6 | 907 | 1218 |
| 2005-2006 | Nov 17, 2005 (7 a.m.) | 27.0 | 818 | 993 |
| 2004-2005 | Nov 30, 2004 | 31.1 | 726 | 909 |
| 2003-2004 | Nov 24, 2003 | 31.4 | 845 | 1046 |
| 2002-2003 | Nov 28, 2002 | 28.5 | 1060 | 1227 |
| 2001-2002 | Nov 21, 2001 | 30.1 | 855 | 1045 |
| 2000-2001 |
Nov 10, 2000 (Oct 10, 2000) |
30.4 (32.7) |
1178 | 1491 |
| 1999-2000 | Nov 5, 1999 | 31.8 | 563 | 728 |
| 1998-1999 | Nov 2, 1998 | 29.7 | 574 | 687 |
| 1997-1998 | Nov 15, 1997 | 26.6 | - | - |
| 1996-1997 | Nov 27, 1996 | 30.2 | 849 | |
To print this page, it may help
to set your printer to landscape mode.
Rainfall and temperature
data are collected at the Texas A&M University Agricultural Research and
Extension Station at Overton,
and may not reflect temperatures or rainfall amounts for other areas of east
Texas. These are not "official" records, nor should
they be used for legal or insurance purposes, but are provided for your information. For
questions about this page contact
Indre Pemberton.