Food & Farm News
» May 12, 2010 «
Apricots should be in retail stores soon
Central Valley apricot growers have started harvest. Consumers should begin to find apricots arriving in retail stores as early as this weekend. The group Apricot Producers of California says the trees bloomed early, but cool weather this spring has delayed fruit maturing. Apricots need more heat units to develop color. Farmers expect the crop to produce about the same amount of fruit as last year. California-grown apricots should be available from now until mid-June.
Weather reduces onion supply
As onion harvest begins in the Imperial Valley, farmers find unusually strong demand for their crops. Rain and other weather problems damaged onions grown in Texas. Most of the onions now available come from storage. Consumer prices have pushed upwards. Observers say prices will remain high until onion supplies catch up with demand.
Farmers brace for moth quarantine 
The discovery of invasive moths in Fresno County has growers of grapes and other crops worried about the impact of a crop quarantine. Government agencies will restrict crop movement to halt the spread of the pest, the European grapevine moth. A half-dozen moths trapped in Fresno County were the first to be found outside the North Coast region, where they first appeared last fall. The moth prefers grapevines but also attacks other crops.
Consumer Christmas tree preferences change
You may not be thinking about Christmas trees now, but tree growers are analyzing last year's sales trends as they prepare for the 2010 holiday season. The California Christmas Tree Association reports a change in sales patterns. Shoppers bought more Douglas fir trees than Monterey pines, which had been the favorite for several years. The association says overall Christmas tree sales last year kept pace with the previous season.
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