Frost

• Radiative frost — heat loss from plant and soil surfaces on clear, calm nights, often the more localised and manageable type.
• Advective frost — arrival of a cold air mass, which can affect large areas regardless of wind or cloud and is harder to counter with local protection methods.

Ice formation within plant cells can rupture cell membranes, while ice forming between cells can draw water out of tissue, both causing damage that ranges from minor leaf browning to the loss of buds, flowers, or entire plants. Because reproductive tissues such as flowers and young fruit are often more cold-sensitive than dormant wood, a frost event during or after flowering can be far more damaging than a colder event earlier in dormancy.

Frost damage can reduce yield directly, by destroying flowers or developing fruit, or indirectly, by damaging leaves needed for photosynthesis. Perennial fruit crops such as grapevines and top fruit are particularly exposed to spring frost risk after bud break, while many warm-season annual crops and tropical or subtropical species can be damaged or killed by even light frost. The economic impact of a single frost event can be substantial in regions where a crop’s flowering period regularly coincides with the local frost risk window.

• Site selection that avoids low-lying "frost pockets" where cold air pools
• Timing of planting, pruning, or flowering (through cultivar choice) to reduce overlap with typical frost dates
• Active protection methods such as wind machines, orchard heaters, or sprinkler-based ice protection that uses the latent heat released as water freezes
• Protected cultivation, such as greenhouses or row covers, for high-value or particularly sensitive crops

National meteorological services issue frost warnings and track long-term first- and last-frost date statistics, which growers use alongside local microclimate knowledge to plan planting dates, protection measures, and cultivar selection. Because frost risk is highly local, on-farm or near-farm temperature monitoring often supplements regional forecasts.