Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/506700
www.goodfruit.com GOOD FRUIT GROWER MAY 15, 2015 19 of average, she said. The Coral Champagne crop appeared to be about 60 percent of average, whereas the Tulare crop appeared only about 15 percent of average, Shales said. Steve Murray, owner of Murray Family Farms in Arvin, blamed inadequate chill for impacting south-valley orchards. Chill portions Cherries require about 48 chill portions for adequate bloom and fruit set. A relatively new concept, chill portions are based on a dynamic model that takes into account chill cancellation due to fl uctuating warm temperatures. "When you get down into Arvin and Maricopa, nobody got to 45 or 48 chill portions, so I think everybody has a light crop," he said. Growers who applied a plant growth regulator early and whose trees bloomed early appeared to have better fruit set than those who sprayed later or whose trees bloomed later during record heat. Those with the earliest trees were expected to begin harvest by mid-April, compared with a typical start of April 23-25, Murray said. On his own ranch, Murray has more than two dozen cherry varieties. About a half dozen are sold commercially, with the others designed to stretch the season for direct-to-consumer sales. His crop this year was smaller than last year, which he said was bucking the trend. "Last year was a disaster industrywide, whereas this year I'd say was a disaster for orchards in the south and north and a better crop in the middle because of when they were blooming," Murray said. "Usually we have some blocks that will pull through, and this year we just don't have any blocks that will pull through." One of his worst performers is the Tulare variety. Only a few years ago, he could count on harvesting 35,000 boxes of the variety. This year, he won't even pick 3,000 boxes. "The last three years, it just doesn't seem to set any crop," he said. "There was a time when it was insurance—one that would always set a good crop." Production around Patterson in central California also appeared down, with Coral and Hazel—a newer variety— about 60 percent of average, Shales said of Stemilt production. The Garnet crop was about half of average, she said. Not promising Chris Britton, a partner in BK Partners Inc. in Modesto, said this year's crop didn't look promising at all. Fruit set on his Coral Champagne, Brooks, and Bings looked adequate, while Chelan, Garnets, and Tulares were extremely light. Britton guessed his crop was about 25 percent of what he'd consider normal. Last year, the set was so light at about fi ve percent he didn't even harvest. Heading into this spring, Britton had been optimistic. "We had a terrifi c snowball bloom this year, and we all thought things looked great," he said. "But for whatever reason, whether it was heat or some unknown factor, the set's just not there." During the winter, they even ran overhead irrigation and applied Surround to try to keep the trees cool. "We had what we would consider adequate chill, so I don't think it's that," he said. Some theories point to heat during bloom. Britton said the temperature hit close to 90 degrees a couple of times when the fl owers were open. In the northern production area around Stockton and Lodi, Shales said the crop load was spotty in some orchards and nice in others. Shales said she expected harvest to begin a few days earlier than normal in the southern production area and end in the Lodi-Stockton area in early June. Speaking before the start of the season, Shales said she expected a nice transition to Washington without a supply gap or oversupply. "The harvest in California will wrap up around June 6 with Lapins and Sweetheart. That will be right as Washington starts to ramp up," she said. Jim Ferrari, who has mostly Bings near Linden, said this year's crop defi nitely looked better than last year, when it was light. "It's just a matter of luck—it's not a matter of profi ciency or anything else," Ferrari said. In looking at orchards in the area, he said fruit set appeared related to when trees bloomed. "If the cherries bloomed earlier when it was a bit cooler, they seemed to set better," he said. "If they bloomed a little later when the temperatures were higher, the set is off." Even within the same variety, Ferrari said he's seen variations in set. Maturity was running about a week ahead of last year, and Ferrari said he expected to have Bings before Memorial Day. He hoped to complete harvest by the end of May. "In this area of California, if we can get out before there's a hint of Washington coming in, we're in good shape," he said. "We kind of shoot for the end of May to get out before they come in." • "For whatever reason, whether it was heat or some unknown factor, the set's just not there." —Chris Britton 360.333.4044 Casey Schoenberger Mount Vernon, WA Dramm Corporation Manitowoc, WI • U.S.A. www.FishFertilizer.com Extremely high levels of available Calcium & Phosphorus Natural Fish Fertilizers for Organic & Sustainable Crop Production BERRIES VINEYARDS ORCHARDS