A number of growers have asked me about critical temperatures for injury at different bud development stages this spring and since we are still in frost season I thought I would put them in print (below) for this year and future reference. I obtained them from an extremely comprehensive article by Pam Fisher and Rebecca Shortt from the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) and the full article can be found by clicking "frostprotect" for those of you who would really like to dig into the science of irrigation for frost protection in strawberries.
Critical Temperatures for Injury in Strawberries (Perry and Poling, 1985)
| Strawberries | Bud development stage | |||
| Tight bud | “Popcorn” | Open blossom | Fruit | |
| Approximate critical temperature for injury (⁰C) | -5.5 | -2.2 | -1.1 | -2.2 |