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California summer fruit smaller and tastier this year
"That smaller peach this year very likely is sweeter than the moderate-sized peach of last year," said Kevin Day, UC ANR Cooperative Extension advisor and director in Tulare and Kings counties.
Most of the change in fruit size can be attributed to the drought. When irrigation is limited, water content of the fruit diminishes and sugars become a greater proportion of the fruit mass. However, Day says drought isn't the only reason for 2015's smaller fruit size. California also had unusually warm temperatures in January and February 2015, causing fruit to ripen faster.
"A variety that might ripen after 120 days of being on a tree in a year like this ripens in only 110," Day said. "And, so it's consequently shortchanged out of 10 days of growing."
UC research on dwarf fruit trees featured on local news
The idea is keeping the fruit trees short so ladders won't be necessary for harvest and other orchard operations, while at the same time maintaining excellent yield and fruit quality.
Day talked to the KSEE news crew in a peach and nectarine orchard at the UC Kearney Agricultural Research and Extension Center in Parlier.
"This is good news for farmers and farmworkers," said reporter Theresa Sardina. "This means safer working conditions for workers and less money out of farmers' pockets."
Day said the researchers are trying to better understand the labor savings aspect of small fruit trees, but he believes they will be proven to be significantly more cost effective.
"You can save a minimum of 25 if not up to 50 percent on any particular labor operations," Day said.
The lead agricultural technician at Kearney, Rudolfo Cisneros, was also interviewed for the story.
See the video on the KSEE Channel 24 website.
Valley farmers are pulling out peaches
Many environmental factors can significantly compromise a peach harvest, said Maxwell Norton, UC Cooperative Extension advisor in Merced County.
"For tree fruit you need to have a greater net profit than you do raising tree nuts because growing tree fruit is so much more risky," he said. "The biggest risk of all is not being able to find enough labor during harvest. Peaches, when they're ripe, you have very few days to harvest."
In the Northern San Joaquin Valley, including Merced and Stanislaus counties, about 8.2 percent of bearing acres for clingstone peaches, or 667 acres, have been pulled out of production this fall, the article said.
Because trees are being pulled out, processors are beginning to increase the price they are offering.
Delhi farmer Glenn Arnold said he's clinging to peaches for now.
"I was happy when I heard the price because it's a fair price," he said. "A hail storm can take your whole crop in two minutes. If you don't get compensated adequately for the risk, you might switch to an alternative."
Budget cuts felt on agricultural campuses
An article by Ching Lee in today's Ag Alert focused on the effects of budget cuts on agricultural student programs at California universities. "Budget cuts have had a profound effect on all areas of the campus," Diane Ullman, associate dean for undergraduate academic programs at UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, told the reporter. She explained the college faces challenges keeping agricultural production facilities, instructional equipment and technologies updated to deliver hands-on education — even though the office has seen student applications increase by 70–80 percent.
Tom Baldwin, dean of UC Riverside College of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, also commented on the challenges of serving students in the face of diminishing resources, saying the university is "moving heaven and earth" to do so.
The cuts are being felt at on-campus farms as well. Raoul Adamchak, of the UC Davis Student Farm, explained that the market garden generates its own income and provides a lesson to students on self-sustaining businesses. "Things cost money, and these are part of the expenses of farming, so it has to be factored in. They have to make decisions based on the cost of things and the returns," he said.
Peach association to major retailer: Buy U.S.-grown
Christine Souza, Ag Alert
The California Canning Peach Association has asked Target to consider California fruit for its Market Pantry-brand canned peaches, which are currently a product of China. Wal-Mart carries a comparable product made from California cling peaches, with a lower retail price.
Reporter Christine Souza sought expert commentary from Roberta Cook, UC Cooperative Extension marketing specialist at the Davis campus, on the current market for California cling peaches. "When you are talking about processed items, if another country can produce it a lot cheaper than you, then you will be vulnerable to competition. And consumer preferences have moved towards fresh. So [California cling-peach businesses] are hit by both factors," she told the reporter.
Related ANR News Blog post: Chinese farmers take a bite out of the California cling-peach market
Yuba/Sutter peach farmer dismayed by 'dirty crop'
UC Cooperative Extension farm advisor Janine Hasey told a Willows Journal reporter she is amazed that the peach harvest in Yuba and Sutter counties has begun. Cool spring temperatures mean harvest is expected to be late.
"All we are looking at right now is the extra early," Hasey was quoted in a story published late last week. "As time goes on, we will see what happens with other varieties."
Cooperative Extension recommends pre-harvest fungicide sprays for all varieties to prevent ripe fruit rot.
"Put your first treatment on two to three weeks before harvest," Hasey said.
The article focused on Sutter County farmer Sarb Thiara who is disappointed by brown rot in his peach crop.
"I've never seen it like this," he said. "We call it a dirty crop."
Thiara, a director with the California Canning Peach Association, has farmed peaches for 35 years, but in the last five years he has pulled out 600 acres and replaced them with almonds, walnuts and prunes. He has about 500 acres of peaches left and plans to gradually replace those, too.
"It's very frustrating, the cost of labor, the cost of chemicals, to even get this," Thiara said, according to the article.
Brown rot, seen at left, is a concern for peach growers this year.
