Ag Alert. July 26, 2023

Melons Continued from Page 1

all we’ve had for the last couple of years,” Del Bosque said. Colace said he relied on surface water this year as opposed to groundwater. “The good news is that you have state water, so farmers are not having to rely as much on pumping water or subsurface water,” Colace said. “This (surface water) is high-quality water, which really does produce a better-quality melon.” Most of the state’s cantaloupe growers, who produce about 75% of the nation’s cantaloupes, have transitioned to varieties with a longer shelf life. Faced with pressure from retailer cus- tomers and increasing labor costs, Patricio said, retailers required growers to plant longer-shelf-life varieties to lower the rate of rejected melons and reduce food waste. The newer varieties feature a harder exte- rior and firmer flesh, which means fewer passes by harvest crews and reduced costs, he said. Patricio, who chairs the California Cantaloupe Advisory Board and serves on the California Melon Research Board, said he and some other shippers held off planting the new varieties because they felt melons grown with a requirement of 10% brix were not as flavorful as the traditional Western shipper varieties. In response, he said the California Cantaloupe Advisory Board instituted a higher standard of 12% brix to improve flavor for consumers. “There will continue to be seed inno- vation, and I fully expect at some point in time we’ll have a hard-shell, low-food- waste cantaloupe that tastes fabulous,” Patricio said. (Christine Souza is an assistant editor of Ag Alert. She may be contacted at csouza@cfbf.com.)

late-season storm dampened some early melon fields and delayed harvest for grow- ers near Huron. Some farmers reported challenges such as being unable to access fields and having to confront pest issues for early-season melons. The onset of warm temperatures dried things out and harvest resumed. As the season continues, Del Bosque de- scribed the quality of melons as good and demand as steady. He said he hopes there is not “a bunching up” of melons hitting the market at once. “If there is too much overlap, then we could get into a lot of volume, and that will impact the market,” he said. Garrett Patricio, president of Westside Produce, a grower, packer and shipper of cantaloupes and honeydews based in Firebaugh, reported some overlap of har- vest in the melon-growing regions, lead- ing to more volume on the market, which affects price. However, Patricio said, “For cantaloupes and honeydews, pricing has been good. We’re probably in the range of $9 to $10 per carton.” The state’s melon season typically begins in the southern desert in April and goes through early July. It starts again in mid-Oc- tober, running through early December. On the west side of the San Joaquin Valley,

Fresno County farmer Joe Del Bosque stands in a field of organic watermelons near Firebaugh. Despite a later crop this year, he and other farmers say melon quality is above average.

harvest usually runs from June to October. Imperial Valley farmer Joe Colace of Five Crowns Marketing in Brawley grows, ships and packs melons, including cantaloupes and honeydews. He said the state’s melon crop is late, but quality is excellent. “Everything looks above-average as far as sets and quality, and we’re anticipat- ing a very high-quality crop throughout the season,” Colace said, noting that 40 acres of seedless watermelons he planted in the desert region were affected by cold weather early in the season. After several years of drought, the

state’s record snowpack and precipita- tion this year has been a plus for growers. Del Bosque, who receives water from the Westlands Water District, a federal Central Valley Project water contractor, said the district received a 100% water allocation. But he said growers did not learn the wa- ter allocation amount until after planting plans were made. “We didn’t know at the start of the year what the allocation would be, so we planned for less than that,” Del Bosque said. “We got this extra water and you say, ‘I want to go out and plant some more,’ but you can’t get in the fields because of the late rain, so it was a little difficult to take advantage of all that water.” A related benefit to plentiful water sup- plies, he said, is the lower cost of supple- mental water transferred to the district compared to drought years. “That (supplemental) water has been extremely, extremely expensive, but that’s

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14 Ag Alert July 26, 2023