FRESNO, CA — Atomic Torosian, one of the owners of Crown Jewels Produce Co., here, said that the company “prides itself in having a lot of varietal mix” in its table grape program out of the San Joaquin Valley.

Sweet Celebration is a new proprietary red seedless table grape variety from International Fruit Genetics that is being offered this year by Pandol Bros. Inc. in Delano, CA.

While the variety is not exclusive to Pandol, “we have a lot of it, where no one else really has very much of it yet,” said John Pandol, a director of the corporation.

Pandol Bros. made “a big splash” with Sweet Celebration at Asia Fruit Logistica last year, Mr. Pandol said. “We introduced it in a big way in Asia and around the Pacific” and to “certain U.S. retailers.”

BAKERSFIELD, CA — Anthony Vineyards, here, will see increases this year, and in future years, in several varieties of grapes, as young plantings come into production, according to John Harley, vice president of sales and marketing. Much of the growth will be in newer mid and late season varieties, and much of it will be from organic vineyards.

“A lot of the increases will be in our fall varieties that may start harvesting the latter part of August and run through September and into October,” Mr. Harley said. “That is where most of our growth is.”

WASHINGTON -- The immigration reform issue may be turning into a "perfect storm" as labor shortages are showing up in places not seen before in agriculture, federal immigration audits are pushing workers out and Congress remains in political gridlock, Craig Regelbrugge, vice president of government relations and research at American Nursery & Landscape Association, said during a July 24 webinar.

Sweet Surrender. Sweet Celebration. Sweet Jubilee. And now, as if the others were not sweet enough, Cotton Candy. Those are the names of some proprietary grape varieties developed by International Fruit Genetics in Bakersfield, CA, grown by The Grapery in Bakersfield, and marketed by Fruit Royale Inc. in Delano.

TRAVER, CA — In early July 2011, Louis Scattaglia, managing partner of Scattaglia Growers & Shippers LLC, here, told The Produce News, “We’ve increased our acreage about 40 percent across the board, all varieties.” Much of that acreage will be in production this year, with “the balance coming on next year.”

The company’s table grape production did, indeed, increase last year as a result of the new plantings, and it will increase again this year, as expected.