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Crop Report: May 6, 2024
Tomatoes
Organics – Plants/Fields continue to look very good and healthy. Starting to see crown set development on the plants here and there. Weather forecast for the next ten days for daytime temperatures to be in the mid 70’s to low 80’s. Rainfall/scattered showers predicted too.
Pear Tomatoes – Fields all planted and looking very good. Plants growing as expected. Pear Tomatoes will be experiencing the same weather conditions as the organic tomatoes for the next ten days.
Conventional Tomatoes –Transplanting continues. Everything continues to be on track. Currently we are about 50% to 60% planted. Early plantings are growing and maturing as expected and looking very good. Daytime temperatures are forecasted for the next ten days to be in the mid 70’s to low 80’s with a low chance of rain/scattered showers.
Peaches
Modesto/Madera/Kingsburg – Peaches are progressing well with the recent warmer temperatures. The tops of the trees are starting to catch up with the lower part of the tree. Growers have started thinning their Calaveras. A few growers have started thinning their Loadels as well. Fruit counts have been good with a lot of fruit being thinned off. We should start seeing some sloughing in the other varieties by next week. IPM (Integrated Pest Management) programs will continue by monitoring orchards for pest populations as fruit develops. Normal cultural practices continue in all orchards.
Organics – Kingsburg – Finished thinning the American and Calaveras. Will thin the Stanislaus next. Warmer weather is needed to help move the natural sloughing along. All normal cultural practices continue.
Madera – Started thinning the Americans. Will thin the Calaveras next. Weed control and irrigation repairs continue. Irrigating as needed.
Marysville/Yuba City – The crop in the North is coming along well. Much of the crop is in its fruit development stage. Several growers will start thinning their orchards in the beginning of May to promote quality peaches. Growers have also started irrigating their young trees as it is a sensitive period for the development of the younger trees. Irrigating the younger trees nurtures and develops a robust root system so that the tree can serve well for years to come. Weather and temperature have been cooperative so far.
Pears
River and Linden Districts – Bloom is finally complete. Fruit is starting to grow. Mixed maturity can be seen throughout. The largest fruit are measuring just over 1” in diameter. Since, the newer fruit seems to be setting okay growers are more optimistic about the crop size. Cultural practices have started in all orchards.
Mendocino and Lake Districts – The Mendocino bloom was similar to the River region, long and drawn out. Lake County had a more compact bloom. Lake County full bloom was called April 9th, which is normal timing. Growers feel there is a full crop in Lake County.
Pacific Northwest- The Bartlett pear crop is down from last year and looks close to an average crop. PCP’s Northwest pear tonnage will be the same as last year. The pear crop development ranges from small red pears to full bloom at the highest elevations.
Grapes
Official bunch counts were finally reported from our southernmost growers. The average for one grower came in at 34 bunches, which is a good indication of a full crop. We should get bunch counts numbers from our Madera area growers next week. It is still early but our grape crop looks promising. All cultural practices continue in all vineyards.
Cherries
Northwest cherry crop continues to look good for quality and quantity. Currently the set looks close to an average set down from last year’s overset crop. It will be another 1-2 weeks before all the cherries are out of the shuck and the crop set can be seen. Good news is there has been no detrimental weather events to decrease the crop or stress the trees. Growers are continuing their cultural practices of crop protection and irrigation. Current harvest date estimates are Salem machine picked June 1; Salem Handpicked June 6-10; The Dalles first delivery June 2-7.
Apricots
Apricots are gaining in size, but the extended bloom has some growers much further along than others. Only a handful of growers have had to thin their crops this year. The lighter than normal set some growers are experiencing will definitely produce larger apricots. Cultural practices continue in all orchards.
Apples
Apple crop development ranges from pea size apples to pink or tight cluster for late apples. The Lower Yakima Valley had a good bloom with good weather. PCP’s apple supply looks clean and plentiful for the 2024 crop.