California heat sun sky

Oct 25, 2024
Heat produces uneven California fall organic fruit supply

An inconsistent supply of fall organic fruit is expected this year.

Stephen Paul of Homegrown Organic Farms (HGO) in Porterville, California, said the record heat that scorched the valley from spring to fall took its toll on some of the organic fall fruit crops.

Paul, who is HGO’s deciduous category director, went down the company’s fall lineup and said each crop is on the light side because of high temperatures throughout the year. Heat in the spring impacted the fruit set, summer heat delayed sizing of the fruit and late summer’s high temperatures had other adverse impacts, including delaying the color development on the peel of pomegranates. “The heat is especially challenging on the organic crops,” he said. “We can’t use some of the (chemical) tools that are available to conventional growers.”

A quick look at the 2024 temperature charts for a number of San Joaquin Valley cities confirms Paul’s report. Stockton had 41 days in 2024 with a high of at least 100°F, breaking the previous record of 40 days in 2022. Modesto checked in with 42 days of the gauge hitting three digits, breaking the previous record of 36 days in 2017. For Merced, Madera and Fresno, July 2024 was the hottest month ever recorded. That same month was the second-hottest month ever recorded in Hanford.

 

Record heat stunts Central Valley fall fruit. Photo courtesy Organic Produce Network.

 

Breaking it down by commodity, Paul said the Asian pear trees produced a light crop and a short season for the company. “We are only going to have Asian pears for another three weeks,” he said on Oct. 21, adding that the crop would typically last until Thanksgiving.

HGO’s crop of kiwi berries is basically finished. The Mammoth kiwi crop is also light and has produced smaller fruit. There will be some available as Thanksgiving approaches, but not too much longer than that.

Paul said the organic pomegranate crop does have volume but there is not a lot of fruit on the top end of the size scale. He said large organic pomegranates, which have a carton quantity of 20+ fruit, are scarce, with retailers having to switch to 32s and 36s. While the arils colored up well, Paul said the skin needs cool nights for the bright red color to come on. He noted that nighttime temperatures through much of the late summer remained in the mid-80s.

While there are promotable options in the organic pomegranate category, Paul expects the company supplies to run out prior to Christmas.

Turning his attention to persimmons, Paul again noted that they are peaking on smaller sizes. But he said HGO is doing well with its one-pound bag offerings and does expect persimmons to be available through Christmas.

Though the lower volume numbers and smaller sizes for organic fall fruits across the board have created some challenges, Paul said there are always opportunities. He said the key is communicating to the retailer community early and employing, “the art of marketing and salesmanship. We are committed to the 3 T’s: truth, transparency and trust.”

He explained that HGO is up front with its retail partners and has asked them to get their orders in early and be flexible with sizing. The longtime HGO executive said grower-shippers can help extend the season for retailers by rationing out their supplies when they have orders in hand.

Solid supply of persimmon, kiwi berry, Asian pear

Organic persimmons are a fall fruit crop that remains in good supply. “We are seeing lots of Fuyus and lots of Hachiyas,  said Hector Aguilera, produce buyer for Los Angeles-area wholesaler Heath and Lejeune. Speaking of the two main commercial persimmon varieties, Aguilera said he’s receiving them from Temecula and Bakersfield and they are in abundance.

Aguilera said there are good supplies of organic Asian pears from Washington state and even a solid supply of organic kiwi berries. “We should have good supplies of Asian pears for the next three to four weeks,” he added.

Tim Linden, freelance writer for the Organic Produce Network 




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