ANDERSON (AP) -- Peaches and other fruit crops apparently survived an overnight cold snap that worried farmers in parts of North Carolina and South Carolina, officials said Tuesday.

Some South Carolina farmers were still assessing whether there was any damaged crops, but a North Carolina farmer said his peach, strawberry and apple fields were unaffected.

Temperatures dipped into the mid-20s in western North Carolina and were slightly higher south of the border with South Carolina.

The freeze was a reminder of a year ago, when the peach crop in South Carolina was decimated. Production was cut from 60,000 tons to about 8,000 in South Carolina.

This year, peaches are in a different stage and likely won't be devastated by the brief dip in temperatures, said Clemson University horticulture professor Desmond Layne.

"We are not in the clear," Layne said. "If by April 15 we have not had a serious freeze, then I will say we are probably in the clear. Last year, we assumed we were in the clear."

Peaches can take a light freeze, but not several hours of temperatures in the 20s, he said.

Two farmers in Anderson spent Monday night protecting their crops against freezing temperatures.

"If we get peaches this year it will be the first year that we've got them because we've lost them every year to the freeze," said Stacey Hardy of Hardy Berry Farm, who has been growing peaches for three years.

North Carolina farmer Wade Edney of Piney Mountain Orchard said Tuesday his peach blooms were still tightly closed and unaffected.

"I think ours looks pretty good," Edney said. "Nothing but the early peaches were out."

Temperatures were expected to rise later this week but a cold front was forecast for the Carolinas late Saturday.

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