Watsonville, Calif., Jan. 18 - The chilling temperatures haven't put the damper on California's year-round crop of strawberries, although the industry is experiencing a temporary setback that will take about six weeks to rebuild to normal volumes.
"It's winter and we expect bad weather," explains Mark Murai, president of the California Strawberry Commission. "Farmers recognize that when we get an extra chill, it's not necessarily a bad thing. In fact, it can be beneficial. It can stimulate production later and we could end up with a very good year."
January and February are the lowest producing months of California strawberries. Unlike other fruits that have only one crop per year, strawberries plants continually produce fruit throughout the year and growers have only lost a portion of fruit currently on the plant. Although there has been some frost damage in the southern parts of the state, the plants are still in a very early stage. They will recover soon and produce flowers that will become the next set of fruit. Farmers are optimistic the volume of fruit will begin to return to normal production levels within a few weeks.
The California Strawberry Commission supports and represents the California strawberry industry with programs in research, education, marketing and issues management. The Commission represents an industry of over 700 growers, shippers and processors.