The California Crop Weather report from the National Agricultural Statistics Service in Sacramento released July 10, 2012.
Weather
California lay just to the west of a strong high pressure ridge which brought the rest of the country record heat during the week of July 3. A low pressure trough pushed through the Pacific Northwest and Northern California Monday through Wednesday, resulting in cooler than normal temperatures for the state for the first part of the week.
By Thursday, the massive Central U.S. high pressure system spread westward into California. This brought higher temperatures across the Central Valley, rising to the upper 90’s and low 100’s by the weekend.
Southern California had a warming trend with high temperatures in the upper 90’s.
Precipitation was limited to occasional drizzle along the northern and central coasts during the first part of the week, plus some isolated thunderstorms over the Southern Sierra and San Gabriel Mountains.
Field crops
The wheat crop harvest was in full-swing.
Alfalfa was cut, raked, and baled. Producers across the state were between the second and fourth cuttings.
Cotton producers cultivated, irrigated, and treated the crop for pest issues. About two-thirds of the cotton crop squared. More than a quarter of the crop set bolls.
Corn for grain grew well. Some fields had tassels. Corn for silage was harvested.
The cotton and rice crops were rated mostly good to excellent.
Garbanzo beans dried down in preparation for harvest.
Fruit crops
The peach, plum, and nectarine harvests continued as the apricot harvest was winding down.
Grapes in the Central Valley matured well and were rapidly increasing in size and gaining color. Grape growers treated mildew with sulfur. Table grapes in the Coachella Valley were harvested.
Apples, kiwis, figs, jujubes, and pomegranates grew well. The olive bloom was over and the fruit was sizing. Strawberries were picked and packed in the San Joaquin Valley.
The harvests of Valencia oranges, lemons, and grapefruit continued. The removal of netting on tangerine and mandarin groves was complete. The late Navel orange harvest was wrapping up.
Nut crops
Almond hull split began as growers applied hull split sprays.
There was good development in walnut, pistachio, and pecan orchards.
Walnuts were sprayed for weeds.
Vegetable crops
Kern County reported carrot and tomato harvests.
Tulare County reported the harvests of eggplants, cucumbers, summer squash, tomatoes, sweet corn, and other vegetables, plus watermelons and other melons.
In Fresno County, onions, garlic, and processing tomatoes were harvested, along with beets, bittermelon, bell peppers, choys, chards, kales, cucumbers, daikon, eggplant, fava beans, green onions, beans, herbs, lemon grass, spinach, squash, tomatillos, turnips, zucchini, cantaloupe, and watermelon. The harvest finished for asparagus and artichokes.
Merced County reported radicchio, fresh market tomato, and onion harvests. Some tomato fields were treated for armyworms.
In Stanislaus County, eggplant, cabbage, broccoli, greenhouse tomatoes, garlic, onions, herbs, and squash were harvested. Tomatoes showed color. Cantaloupe grew well in the heat.
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