The California Fresh Fruit Association commended the California Department of Food and Agriculture for its efforts to reopen State Route 20, impacted by the devastating Rocky Fire. President Barry Bedwell spoke with The Produce News on Aug. 6 about the diversion of traffic to U.S. Hwy. 101, which had a decided effect on the movement of fresh pears from Lake County.

“It’s a much more difficult route,” Bedwell stated, adding that transit times were essentially doubled.Pear producers in Lake County, CA, were hit with a bin shortage during harvesting after State Road 20 was closed due to the Rocky Fire. (Photo courtesy of David J. Elliot & Son Co.) SR 20 had been closed for a week, at a critical time when California pear producers were harvesting their Bartletts in Lake County. Bedwell said the increased transit time meant that empty bins could not be returned to the orchards as quickly as needed for refilling, thereby creating a bin shortage.

“The state has been really helpful,” he said of action to address the situation.

The Rocky Fire began on July 29, and authorities estimated the fire would be contained by Aug. 13.

California’s table grape industry is moving ahead full throttle with its harvest. “We estimate 113 million boxes of grapes this season,” Bedwell said. “Production is really gearing up.”

The majority of the state’s grapes are moved after Labor Day. Activity is weather dependent, and Bedwell said favorable conditions could extend the harvest into November and possibly December.

The industry has evolved to provide the marketplace with fruit that Bedwell said is “consumer friendly.” The varietal profile reflects this evolution. “The top 10 varieties of table grapes are totally different,” he said. To illustrate, Bedwell said Thompson topped the list 20 years ago. Today, it occupies the seventh position among the top 10.

“Companies are developing their identities through proprietary varieties,” he added.

The window for California’s apple season is a relatively short one. Alexander Ott, executive director of the California Apple Commission, said this year’s season began on July 2, and harvesting will run through the beginning of October. Each year, the shipping season changes depending upon the crop itself. This season, Ott expects shipping will finish by Christmas.

California apple production centers around Gala, Granny Smith, Fuji and Cripps Pink. “Some people are doing Braeburns,” Ott commented. These varieties do well in California’s climate, and the apples have good sugars due to the heat.

Ott said California’s annual apple crop typically falls in the 2-2.5 million box range. At the current time, approximately 12 percent of the annual crop is organic.

California consumers purchase between 40-45 percent of the crop each year, and the rest is sold out of state. Approximately 20 percent of California apple volume is moved offshore. Top export destinations for California apples are Canada, Mexico and Southeast Asia.

Looking at California stone fruit production, Bedwell said the Golden State’s producers of peaches, nectarines and plums are typically harvesting and marketing 40 million boxes annually. “We’ve seen more stability in supply,” he said of production.

The stone fruit season is moving along quickly, and growers are in the final stage of harvesting. “Overall, people were satisfied [with the crops],” Bedwell stated. “We had a good year for quality and quantity.”

Water supply was generally ample during the 2015 production season. “We don’t expect any impacts in the short term,” he explained. “But we could see impacts down the road.”

Turning to other fruit crops, Bedwell said, “We’re going fast and hard in the fig harvest.” Reports from the field are favorable, and fruit quality is good.

California producers harvest pomegranates in September and October. “That has been a sector that has contracted a bit,” he commented. “There has been some reduction in acreage.”

Persimmons are one of the last fruit crops to be harvested, with volume ramping up in October and November. “There has been no material change in acreage,” Bedwell said. “We have a few thousand acres in persimmons.”