California agriculture is hunkering down in the face of the first spate of sub-freezing weather of the winter season. Early morning temperatures over the next two nights are expected to fall well below freezing point in the coldest growing regions throughout the central state. Citrus and avocados are the most threatened crops.
'This (weather event) started last night, but has not been that extreme so far,' Tom Wollenman of LoBue Brothers, a major California citrus grower-shipper, told Asiafruit. 'The next two nights are another matter as it will be even colder. Furthermore, we are facing another round of freezing weather early next week.'
Warm daytime temperatures on Wednesday give hope that navel oranges will more than survive this mid-week freeze.
'It was a relatively warm day today and so fruit pulp temperatures remained elevated,' said Wollenman. 'That should help us over the next couple of nights as oranges can tolerate pretty low levels, providing they don't persist for more than a couple of hours.
“We're fortunate that we've got pretty high sugars in our fruit for this time of the year.Mandarins are another matter, however, as the industry has been pushing the envelope over the last many years planting in low lying areas.'
Thin-rind mandarins have a lower tolerance to extended freezing conditions compared to their more hearty navel cousins. Wollenman expects that the next several months will be quite cold.
'It's been very dry (across California) and this will likely be the first of several freezes we'll be dealing with this season.'
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