California Ag Network

Tag: Fresno County Crop Report

  • Fresno County Department of Agriculture Crop Report

    Fresno County Department of Agriculture Crop Report for the Month Ending Sunday, February 28, 2018

    Fresno, Calif., (March 14, 2018) – Irrigated grain fields continued to grow well and some fields started to develop seed heads. Broadleaf herbicides were applied as needed. Dry-land barley, triticale, oats, and wheat struggled with lack of rain. Ground preparation in rice fields started.

    Alfalfa started to grow but growth is slow. Alfalfa fields were treated for weeds. Garlic and onion fields continued to grow rapidly. Garbanzo bean fields were growing well. Growers tiled soil, shaped furrows, and replaced drip tape for upcoming spring crops. Ground for sod was being leveled and prepared for seeding.

    Almond and stone fruit started to bloom last month. Bloom sprays were made to control diseases. The County was hit with a hard freeze and growers ran water to protect trees.   The extent of damage will not be known for several weeks. In Sanger District, growers participating in the Mexico Stone Fruit Program started hanging pheromone traps for Oriental Fruit Moth on February 15. Grape vines continued to be pruned and tied. Herbicides were applied to vineyards and cover crops between rows were growing slowly from lack of rain. Many vineyards continued to be pushed out for planting of nut trees. Pistachio and walnut orchards were still being pruned. Almond export was slow. Almonds, pecans, pomegranates, prunes, raisins, and walnuts were exported to Algeria, Australia, Bahrain, Chile, China, Colombia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Egypt, El Salvador, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Kuwait, Latvia, Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco, Netherlands, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom and Vietnam. Chilean and Peruvian table grapes were re-exported to Canada. Nectarine, peach and plum bud wood was exported to Australia.

    Work continued on preparing fields for spring crops. Herbicides were applied to control weeds before planting. Carrots are in all stages of production around the County. Radicchio, fennel, parsley, and spinach were all growing well. Including mizuna, onion, and radish for seed production. Head, leaf, and Romaine lettuce field were growing fast. Asparagus fields were growing well. Blueberry buds were swelling and blooms could be seen at the end of the month. Blueberries and raspberries continued to arrive from Oregon for transplanting. Small growers setup and repaired their hoop houses/ greenhouses in preparation for early spring planting.

    Citrus harvest was in full force around the County. With exports picking up towards the end of February. A hard freeze hit the County late in February, with Sanger reporting a few hours below 28 degrees. Will take a couple weeks to determine freeze damage. Plant growth regulators were applied to orchards to prevent fruit drop. Exclusion nets were placed around mandarins in preparation of citrus bloom. Mandarin orchards continued to be removed and replaced with higher value mandarin varieties. Gophers have been an issue in Huron district, eating orange and lemon roots causing trees to topple. Grapefruit, lemons, mandarins, oranges, and tangelos were exported to Australia, China, Dominican Republic, French Polynesia, Guatemala, Republic of Korea, Japan, New Zealand and the Philippines.

    Bees have been busy pollinating in almond and stone fruit orchards. Cold windy conditions did not help bee activity. Cattle and sheep were grazing in the eastern foothills, but forage conditions were low with lack of rain. Sheep were also seen grazing in fallow fields. Ranchers were out branding new calves. Egg production was expected to increase with the longer days.

  • Fresno County Department of Agriculture Crop Report

    Fresno, Calif., (October 12, 2017) – Small grains (wheat, barley, and oats) were harvested; the fields were leveled, cultivated, and the soil was amended in preparation for new plantings. Rice was maturing and nearing to be harvested. Straw from harvested grain fields was stacked and awaiting shipment to customers.

    Alfalfa seed production was nearing completion. Alfalfa for hay production was maturing well; growers continued to irrigate the fields, cut, windrow, and bale straw for livestock feed. Pest control treatments were underway in other fields. Harvested field corn was worked up into green chop and stored for silage production. Silage corn and sorghum were being harvested and the empty fields were prepped up for triticale planting. Cotton grew well and the bolls were opening; growers continued to irrigate and spray for lygus. Alfalfa seed was exported to Algeria and Argentina.

    Wine, juice and table grape harvesting continued; late season table grapes were covered with plastic to protect the berries from “wishful” rain. Grapes in Selma District were cut and placed on trays to make raisins; 0% on the vine, 25% on open trays, 25% rolled, 50% boxed; open trays of drying grapes were splashed by two unexpected rains. Late season stone fruits were harvested. Growers irrigated the orchards and applied herbicides to control weeds; some orchards were fumigated in preparation for new plantings. Plums trees were treated for borer. Almond harvest continued; harvested fields were irrigated and received herbicide treatments; some growers pulled out vineyards and prepared the ground for fumigation to start new almond orchard; shipments of almond were picking up. Pistachio harvesting has begun in full swing; young pistachios continued to be hand pruned and the floor was being treated with herbicides; new plantings continued. Pomegranates were sizing, coloring, picked, and shipped to packers. Walnut harvesting has begun and processing was underway. Almonds, apples, apricots, grapes, nectarines, Asian pears, peaches, pecan, plum/IS plum, pomegranates, prunes, raisins, and walnuts were exported to Algeria, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Estonia, El Salvador, France, French Polynesia, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Honduras, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Kuwait, Lebanon, Lithuania, Malaysia, Mexico, New Caledonia, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Pakistan, Panama, Peru, the Philippines, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and Viet Nam.

    Harvesting of green beans, carrots, cucumbers, eggplants, peppers (bell and chili), tomatoes, watermelons, and zucchini continued. Strawberries were still being harvested in Reedley District. Some growers in Selma District transplanted the second crops of eggplant, cucumber, green bean, and squash. Cantaloupes, honeydews, sweet corn, and watermelons were picked, packed and shipped and harvest season was nearing to completion; empty fields were cultivated in preparation for next crops plantings. Garlic and onions were being harvested and processed; packing and shipping were on going; growers had started to prepare the ground for next year plantings. Early planting of fresh and processing tomatoes in Huron District was 90-95% finished; late plantings of tomatoes had been reported to some lost due to unusual high temperatures. Organic and conventional cantaloupe in Huron District was winding down and organic broccoli, celery, and spinach were being planted. Broccoli grew well and the fields were being irrigated. Lettuce was being rogued and lettuce seed was being harvested. Plantings of lettuce (head, leaf and romaine) for fall had started; some lettuce fields received treatments to control thrips, aphids, beet armyworm, spider mites and whiteflies. Garlic seed from Oregon was processed. Melons, onions, and squash were exported to French Polynesia, Japan, Mexico, and Taiwan.

    Citrus was starting to change color and the orchards were irrigated; the trees were treated for scales and weeds. Lemons were packed in the Selma District. Olives maturing. Some bee hives were being placed around fields of melons and squash for pollination; others were being placed on vacant land for rebuilding of hives; and a few bee hives remained in local bee yards. Beekeepers provided supplemental feed to replace nectar and pollen normally foraged from blooming plants. Ranchers had left sheep and cattle grazed in harvested grain fields; cull melons fields; and in retired farmland areas. A few ranchers in Huron District grazed sheep in Westlands Water District set aside fields. The eastern slope of the Coast Range Mountains was very dry; rangeland conditions were dry.

  • Fresno County Department of Agriculture – Crop Report

    Fresno, Calif., (July 12, 2017) – Fields of oats, triticale, and wheat continued to be green chopped for silage or cut, windrowed and baled for hay production. Harvester inspections took place to certify wheat fields for inter-county permits to ship out of the County. Rice was growing well and had herbicides applied as needed.

    Alfalfa fields were growing well and the cycle of cutting, windrowing and baling was under way. Alfalfa for seed production also was growing well while being pollinated by honey and leaf-cutter bees. Spraying for lygus and aphids took place in alfalfa. Cotton appeared to be growing well but was really hit hard by lygus and aphids. Growers had a hard time getting a handle on the amount of times they needed to spray. Sweet corn and silage corn continued to show good growth in June. Drip tape was pulled in garlic fields to begin dry out. Sorghum was still being planted and being treated with herbicides and insecticides. Lettuce for seed production was maturing. Alfalfa seed was exported to Saudi Arabia and Sudan.

    Stone fruit harvesting grew throughout June; with nectarines, peaches, and plums all being harvested and packed. Growers saw light fruit set this year due to lingering drought effects, temperature swings and powerful storms. Apricot and cherry harvesting wrapped up. Almond, pistachio and walnuts continued to mature. Nut orchards were treated for weeds and walnuts were treated for codling moth. New almond orchards were still being planted. Raisin, table, and wine grape growers continued to spray for powdery mildew, mites, hoppers, and vine mealy bugs. Early varieties of grapes started to show berry softening towards the end of the month. Pomegranates continued to mature and have pesticides applied to orchards. Almonds, apricots, nectarines, peaches, prunes, raisins and walnuts were exported to Algeria, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Estonia, France, French Polynesia, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Honduras, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Kuwait, Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Pakistan, Panama, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, and Viet Nam. Chilean grapes were re-exported to Canada.

    Summer vegetable season started off well! Basil, bittermelon, cucumbers (English, Armenian, and Pickle), daikon, eggplant (Italian and Japanese), melons, okra, peppers (bell and jalapeno), tomatillos, tomatoes, squash, and zucchini were all starting to be harvested and showing up in roadside stands. Market onions started to be harvested around the County but only Huron District reported processing onion harvest had started. Growers continued to plant fields of melons, eggplants, cucumbers and squash. Harvesting continued in blackberries, blueberries, and strawberries. Harvest started in early planted tomatoes. Tomato fields continued to be fertilized, had pesticides applied, and were cultivated by hand-weeding crews. Garlic was maturing nicely. Melons grew well and increased in size rapidly over the last month. Cantaloupe, honeydew, and watermelon harvest started towards the end of the month with very good market price. Onions were exported to Australia, Nicaragua, Panama, and Taiwan. Squash was exported to Mexico.

    Citrus harvesting wrapped up across the County. Orchards started to receive herbicide treatments and were also cultivated and irrigated. Foliar fungicide and nutrient applications were ongoing. Orange groves had sunscreen applied to foliage. Grapefruit, lemons, oranges and tangelos were packed. Valencia oranges were exported to Republic of Korea. Olive orchards underwent some pruning and discing.

    Beehives were placed in melon, squash, and seed alfalfa fields for pollination. Sheep were moved into retired farmland and harvested wheat fields. Cattle continued to be shipped out for processing. Range conditions started to decline as the summer heat set in with concerns of potential wildfires. Poultry and egg production was normal.