Strawberry and peach growers were on alert Tuesday night when temperatures were forecast to drop below freezing at a critical time in fruit development.

Despite some nervous attention to the thermometer, growers were largely upbeat about crop prospects. The economy may be in recession, but they expected abundant crops of berries and peaches this year.

"There will be lots of strawberries this year," said Taylor Williams, an agricultural agent with the Moore County Center of the Cooperative Extension Service.

Williams said berry growers have learned well how to cope with late freezes, and losses, if any, should be minimal. Two new growers have joined the ranks of strawberry farmers in Moore County this year, bringing the total to seven.

"Strawberries are in good shape," said Williams, who visited all seven berry farms last week.

Berries will be a little late this year, but a limited number of early berries should be available for sale by late next week. Peak season comes in late April and early May, and the season continues into June.

Although temperatures were expected to drop below freezing early this morning, Williams thought both strawberry and peach crops would make it through successfully, provided, of course, that the low temperature does not linger around another few days. That is not expected, because the National Weather Service is predicting a warming trend to set in immediately after the frosty morning.

"I'm sort of loafing today, because I know I won't get much sleep the next two nights," said Frank Bryant, who raises strawberries on the family farm on Bryant Road off U.S. 15-501 east of Carthage.

Bryant said this isn't the first time this spring he has stayed up to keep an eye on his berries. A freeze two weeks ago lasted longer, and he stayed up four nights to make sure the berries would not need spraying to stave off the harmful effects of a late frost.

"I'm watering them overhead," he said. "My berries are the best prepared for the weather that they've ever been."

On Union Church Road, also east of Carthage, Richard Pressley is carrying out a different strategy for his strawberries this year. He has covered his plants and was not planning to sprinkle the crop unless the temperature dropped five or six degrees below the freezing point early in the morning.

Williams said many strawberry farmers are using row covers this year. The covers are made of spun-web, a non-woven fabric that traps heat and keeps plants five or six degrees warmer than air temperature. Williams said farmers used row covers in the fall and winter to encourage plant development.

In addition to Pressley and Bryant, strawberries will be raised again this year by Lewis and Wanda Ring near Whispering Pines, by John Blue on N.C. 22 near Hillcrest, and Billy Carter in Eagle Springs. The new growers are Chester Pilson at Woodlake and Art Adkins and Reid Greene, who are jointly farming strawberries in the Dunrovin community off U.S. 1.

As for the peach crop, Williams is more cautious about freeze damage. He said most peach buds are in their most vulnerable stage of development and it depends on the location and the variety when it comes to potential damage.

"This is a dangerous time for peaches," Williams said.

If peaches are damaged, however, Williams does not think the crop will be wiped out, something that happened two years ago in an especially severe freeze during Easter weekend. There may be damage, but it should be minimal, he said.

Watts Auman, who farms the Auman orchard at West End, admits that things are "iffy" at the orchard.

Auman explained what Williams means by the fruit's vulnerability. He said the blossoms are all gone, but the tiny fruit are just beginning to form with some of the shucks around the infant peach beginning to fall off. When that happens, the tiny peach is unprotected from a sharp drop in temperature.

Peaches begin ripening in June, and this season continues until September in Moore County.

Contact Florence Gilkeson at 947-4962 or by e-mail at florence@thepilot.com.