YORK, S.C. -- Unusually cold weather has wiped out the peach crop in Upstate South Carolina according to several farmers.

“I wasn’t suspecting that it would be quite this widespread and cold,” said York County grower Arthur Black who said he lost all of the fruit from his 100-acres of trees.

With Sunday morning’s low temperature reaching 21 degrees, some farmers took extreme measures to protect their trees.

Joe Guthrie, an agent with the Clemson University Cooperative Extension Service, said he had heard reports of growers hovering helicopters over trees to keep warm air circulating.

“It’s basically no protection,” Guthrie said. “You’re just depending on Mother Nature.”

Farmers in North Carolina reported the state’s apple crop was also severely damaged by the sudden cold snap.

Guthrie said fruit which would normally be harvested in June will likely be replaced on store shelves by peaches grown in California.

He said consumers should expect to pay more for fruit that is not as fresh as locally-grown peaches.

“The quality versus a tree-ripened peach is a world of difference,” Guthrie said.

Black, whose family has grown peaches since the 1920’s, said his insurance policy would cover at least some of his losses, which are expected to total in the tens of thousands of dollars.

“I’ll just have to hunker down and keep on trying,” he said.