SANTA MARIA, CA - An intense heat wave swept across California last week, and the Sacramento-based ANUK team was certainly sweating. Growers within the state felt the pressures of this weather event as well, but we are no stranger to the whims of Mother Nature. Bobalu recently released a crop update as the heat wave began to subside, reporting how its Santa Maria and Oxnard crops fared through the heat.

“Thankfully, our Santa Maria fields hug the coastline so those ranches had some heat (in the 80s) but benefited from the Pacific Ocean cooling each morning and evening keeping heat damage to a minimum,” the company stated in its report. “Our fall crop acreage is increasing in volume as our spring crop numbers continue to trend downward. We see a smooth transition here as we keep up with demand and maintain our labor force.”

The report went on to note that fruit size, quality, color, and flavor in Santa Maria are all looking favorable, and that is expected to continue through the next few months. Bobalu hopes to see a long fall season with mild weather to keep that quality rolling on.

In Oxnard, Bobalu reported that fields are maturing nicely despite the heat wave that hit last week. Because it is still early in the season for those fields, the plants are still looking quite healthy.

“We are harvesting minimal numbers now and look forward to increasing volume each week as we get farther into September,” the report continued. “We hope Mother Nature works with us this fall as the two districts work together to provide us with a nice long second season in 2022 that provides promotable volume for the upcoming holiday seasons.”

As the weather finally begins to cool down here in California, what more does this year have in store for the state’s crops? ANUK will be sure to report.

Bobalu