California’s navel crop expected to grow

California’s navel orange industry is expected to produce a larger crop and bigger fruit this season, a California Department of Food and Agriculture survey shows.

Beneficial weather, especially during the spring blooming period, helped the trees produce more oranges per tree. The survey found that the fruit set per tree was 412, topping the five-year average of 336 oranges per tree. Fruit also is slightly larger in size than the five-year average.

If growers get early rains this fall, it could also mean larger fruit and more cartons.

“We not only had nice weather during bloom but we also had some timely rains,” said Bob Blakely, vice president of California Citrus Mutual in Exeter. “And the fruit is sizing up nicely.”

Industry officials say consumers can expect sweeter-tasting fruit, thanks to summer’s hot weather. So far, the crop is maturing well and harvest is expected to begin in early October.

The survey estimates that California’s central San Joaquin Valley may produce 83 million, 40-pound cartons of oranges for the 2015-16 season. If that holds true, it would represent a 9 percent increase over the previous season. Statewide, the forecast calls for a total of 86 million cartons.

The Valley is the state’s largest citrus growing region with Fresno, Tulare and Kern the dominant producing counties.

Blakely said that while the larger volume crop is good news, there still are farmers who bulldozed their trees because of a lack of water. Hardest hit have been farmers in the Terra Bella area.

The state’s survey shows acreage has dropped from 124,000 last season to 122,000 this season. But Blakely said that number may be lower.

“We have had thousands of acres pushed out with this drought,” Blakely said. “And I don’t think there was enough of an adjustment in the survey. If they are off on that, then the crop will come in below the estimate.”

This story was originally published September 11, 2015 at 4:09 PM with the headline "California’s navel crop expected to grow."