Biotech Updates

USDA Unveils New Plant Hardiness Zone Map

January 27, 2012

The latest edition of the Plant Hardiness Zone Map is now available at the USDA website. The new map was jointly developed by USDA's Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and Oregon State University's (OSU) PRISM climate group. The plant hardiness zone designations represent the average annual extreme minimum temperatures at a given location during a particular time period; or the average lowest winter temperature for the location over a specified time. Low temperature during the winter is a crucial factor in the survival of plants at specific locations.

Compared to the 1990 version, the new map is generally one 5-degree Fahrenheit half-zone warmer than the previous map throughout much of the United States. The data used were obtained from the weather stations during the 30-year period 1976-2005 while the 1990 map was based on temperature data from only a 13-year period of 1974-1986.

See the original news at http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2012/120125.htm