Despite cold weather that’s leaving early morning frost,
agriculture in San Benito County is thriving in the weather as
plants set in for the dormant season. The county’s main
agricultural crop, fruit trees that include apricots and cherries,
need the cold weather. And they need it in November and December,
San Benito County Agricultural Commissioner Ron Ross said.
Despite cold weather that’s leaving early morning frost, agriculture in San Benito County is thriving in the weather as plants set in for the dormant season.
The county’s main agricultural crop, fruit trees that include apricots and cherries, need the cold weather. And they need it in November and December, San Benito County Agricultural Commissioner Ron Ross said.
“The trees need to go through a winter season and they need to have a dormant season,” Ross said.
Over the past month, weather temperatures have dramatically decreased from the low 90s in November’s first week to mid-to-low 30s over the past week. The cold has stopped the growing season of the fruit trees and allowed them to take a much-needed rest before next March and April.
According to the 10-day forecast, weather is expected to have an average low in the high 30s and a high in the low 60s. Both are about 3 to 5 degrees lower than the average temperatures this time of the year, according to The Weather Channel forecast.
It’s better to have the cold in November and December because it allows the plants to relax before the busy growing season next spring, Ross said. An early cold season is much better than late winter cold.
However, for the small citrus farms in the area, the cold weather could devastate the crops, Ross said.
“With cold weather, citrus plants would be affected,” Ross said. “But so far, we are okay.”
Citrus farms make up less than 100 acres of San Benito County’s agricultural crop, and they play a minor role in the county’s agricultural value, Ross said.
For the rest of the crops, the cold weather is exactly what is needed.
Local farmer George Rajkovich of Fairhaven Orchards said the cold is beneficial to his crops that include apricots and cherries.
“We need this for our crops,” Rajkovich said. “Without the cold our plants wouldn’t get the rest they need. Trees are like humans – they need their rest.”
In order for the trees to reach a full blossom in the spring, they need 1,000 to 1,500 hours of weather below freezing, Rajkovich said.
Too cold of weather could eventually kill the young orchards, but Rajkovich doesn’t expect the weather to get much colder – usually they struggle with the weather because it’s not cold enough, he said.
“Usually our biggest concern is that it’s not getting cold enough,” he said.
So far this year the hours of cold are comparable to last year but an increase over previous years, Rajkovich said.
“Trees go through this cycle every year,” he said. “The trees need to have this rest. This is a good thing.”
At B&R Farms, owner Meri Rossi and her apricot trees welcome the chilly weather, she said.
“It’s wonderful for the apricots,” she said. “It’s chilly and that means the trees are sleeping.”
Overall, it’s a continuation of how the year has gone – little hot weather.
“It was a very interesting, mild year,” she said. “We didn’t have much of a summer but we had a very nice season.”
The weather allowed crops to grow and bloom, but hurt the drying season, Rossi said. Because of the mild temperatures, the apricots never dried with a seven-day window.
“It was great in one area but not so great in another,” she said. “But that’s farming.”
The News To You:
Agriculture is one of the county’s larges industries, accounting for nearly $250 million of gross value, according to the 2009 crop report. From 2008 to 2009, the total agricultural value dropped $19 million but the fruit and nut trees’ values increased by $6 million up to $37 million. A winter frost gives fruit trees their winter dormant period, which in return will provide a greater output from the trees in the spring, said Bill Coates, the director of the University of California Cooperative Extension in San Benito County.
