First estimates from the US indicate an apple crop some six per cent down on last year’s record volumes but still above 2003 levels.
The crop is seven per cent down on last season in Washington state, which is the largest producer in the country, making up 57 per cent of the US total.
“Mild temperatures during February and March turned cold in April causing many producers to experience production losses due to poor pollination and frosts,” said Joe Parsons of the US department of agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS). “A heavy frost occurred on April 12 in the Yakima Valley.”
These weather conditions affected later varieties Red Delicious and Fuji the most. Meanwhile Gala appeared to have escaped unscathed as harvesting got under way this week in early parts of Washington state.
Weather conditions this summer have been extremely warm with temperatures above 90oF in some areas, which is having a limiting effect on fruit sizing.
At Yakima Valley Growers-Shippers Association in Washington State, executive director Miles Kohl forecasts a fresh crop packout of some 95 million 42lb boxes, compared to 103m last year. “The hot August so far means we are a size or two down on last year,” he said.
Meanwhile, production in central states of the US is forecast to climb three per cent on last season, while in the eastern states the forecast is down four per cent on last year but up six per cent on 2003.
Lake Ontario region fruit has suffered both frost and heat damage and as a result sizing is small and Empire is reported to be “in lower than average conditions” by the USDA’s NASS office in New York.
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