School crop unhurt

By Bardley Hart
The Collegian

Fresno State officials are breathing a sigh of relief after evaluating damage from recent rain that could have damaged crops.

Thunderstorms rolled into the Central Valley Tuesday night, dropping rain that had the potential to cause big problems for some growers.

“We don’t have any significant damage,” said Ganesan Srinivasan, director of the Agriculture Field Lab. “We just delayed harvesting some of the produce but there is practically no damage.”

While Fresno State’s crops seemed to escape serious harm, other Valley farmers may not be as fortunate.

“The weather is absolutely critical at this time of year for certain types of crops,” said Liz Hudson, Fresno County Farm Bureau outreach coordinator. “Any amount of measurable precipitation can cause problems with the harvest.”

Among the crops that could have been affected by the storm are those approaching harvest and production time, including grapes, raisins and tomatoes, Hudson said. Fresno State’s field labs grow several varieties of grapes for direct consumption and use in wine.

This year’s raisin harvest has already been blighted by a series of problems, including labor difficulties.

The storm hit at a particularly precarious time for producers as some of their crop has already been picked and placed on the ground for drying.

According to Farm Bureau statistics, Fresno County is the nation’s top producer of raisins, accounting for 85 percent of the country’s supply.

Any loss of crop could have an unknown impact on future prices, Hudson said.

One potential bright spot for growers is that weather late in the week was mostly sunny and warm, which could prevent mold from growing by drying out grapes that are already on the ground.

“You want to avoid moisture on your fruit at this time of year,” Hudson said. “It can cause rotting or it can affect the skin.”

Fresno State’s crops may be prone to disease in the future, but officials are taking steps to prevent problems, Srinivasan said.

Fresno County Department of Agriculture officials said they are unable to comment on possible crop damage until early next week when a county-wide assessment will be completed.

According to experts, there is no reliable way to protect most crops from weather damage that can sometimes lead to catastrophic losses, as was the case with last year’s crop of Florida oranges.

Citrus prices were driven up steeply when portions of the state were devastated by a series of four hurricanes.

In 2000, about 10 percent of California’s raisins were destroyed in an early rainstorm, according to government figures. However, the overall size of the harvest was more than enough to make up for the loss and prices saw an overall decline because of a series of market factors.

Raisin growers face a particular dilemma deciding when to pick their grapes and set them out for drying.

The longer a grape stays on the vine the sweeter it becomes but if a grower waits too late in the year they run the risk of losing their crop to the weather.

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