Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/366055
www.goodfruit.com GOOD FRUIT GROWER SEPTEMBER 2014 25 Canners began offering more lucrative prices to grow- ers a few years ago to slow what was a growing shift away from processed pears, said Archibeque, who is a direc- tor of the California Pear Advisory Board. Some grower prices were higher than $300 per ton, but this year's negotiated cannery price could reach around $350 per ton, he said. "The high prices are needed to provide a price that allows growers justification to keep their acreage in Bartletts and not look to alternative crops," he said. "In the early district of Mendocino and Lake counties, especially Mendocino, wine grapes have been an attractive crop for pear growers." With the 5,000 tons of Bartletts gone from the Naumes acreage, the supply side has clearly shrunk, he said. Initial reports of the Bartlett crop showed average numbers of fruits per tree, but there are some drought concerns in Mendocino County. "For those that use surface water from the Russian River in Mendocino County, there's a question of total tonnage due to the drought," said Archibeque. "Those with wells can access groundwater. Lake County growers have wells and sense that they will be okay." That market channel that pays more will get more of the fruit, he said, adding that the canners will likely get the tonnage they need, but they'll have to pay for it. "Last year, canners paid well, but the fresh market also returned well to the growers. In many cases, fresh market prices were beating the contracted cannery prices." Pear growing practices in California changed more than a decade ago when there was oversupply and can- ners wouldn't take all the fruit. "Growers had no choice but to go to the fresh market, and they've been managing their crop for the fresh market ever since," Archibeque said. "Growers here produce a very clean crop." Pear volume Rivermaid Trading packs almost 2 million boxes of pears annually. They pack about 1.5 million boxes of Bartletts, and 400,000 to 500,000 boxes of Bosc. Red vari- eties, like their Rivermaid Red, and specialty varieties, like Seckel, total around 100,000 boxes. Pear exports have strengthened in recent years. River- maid Trading sends fruit to India, Brazil, Colombia, and other Central and Latin American countries. Archibeque credits the use of SmartFresh (1-methylcyclopropene) on Bartletts for opening the door to exports. "Bartletts don't like the variance in temperatures that you can have in ocean containers," he said. "Even if you handle containers well and do everything perfect, you still see a three- to five-degree variance in transit. But SmartFresh evens things out." Rivermaid Trading was a cooperator in postharvest trials led by University of California's Dr. Beth Mitcham. "We learned an awful lot about techniques to make SmartFresh work on pears," Archibeque said. For example, the fruit must be exposed to ethylene at the receiving end. In Brazil, receivers utilize banana rooms to gas pears with ethylene. "Pears in California are profitable for growers right now, and acreage is stable," he concluded. With the exception of the Naumes orchards, there's no longer widespread removal of acreage, and grower returns are in excess of $300 per ton for Bartletts and significantly higher for other varieties. • "The California Bosc market has been shocked by the removal of the Naumes acreage." — Patrick Archibeque s %NTER DIFFERENT ROW SPACINGS: the controller automatically maintains your rate per acre. s #OMPENSATES FOR CHANGES IN GROUND SPEED Automatic Rate Controller Option 400 gallon TTN profile Powerblast 400 gallon wheel-well Pulblast s v OUTSIDE TIRE WIDTH W,X TIRES s ADJUSTABLE WIDTH WHEEL CENTERS Rears Airblast Sprayers POWERBLAST PULBLAST )NTERCHANGEABLE AXIAL mOW FANS to match blade pitch and air volume to your application and horsepower. %LECTRIC FAN CLUTCH 2EARS #ONSTANT 6ELOCITY (ITCH powers through 90° turns 2EARS CENTRIFUGAL PUMP and 2EARS GEARBOX: manu- factured by Rears for more than 40 years. Simple pressure adjustment to maintain accurate calibration in different row spacings. 4HIS IS A TIME TESTED DESIGN FOR A WIDE RANGE OF APPLICATIONS 6ARIABLE PITCH FANS available in 28" & 36" dia. GALLON units with tank profiles for your application. 2EARS #ONSTANT 6ELOCITY (ITCH available for most Pul-Blast models 0ISTON ACTUATED DIAPHRAGM PUMP OR 2EARS CENTRIFUGAL PUMP Agricultural Equipment and Dealer information 800.547.8925 made in made in u s a u s a made in u s a Towers bring the nozzle closer to the spray target. Tower height and profiles to match your application. Tune air volume: adjustable air doors independently control target zones Match Rears' aggressive air delivery engineering to your application with 6ERTICAL 7ALL /VERTHE2OW or 'RAPE %LBOW TOWERS