Holiday Rainstorm Proves Devastating for Cherry Growers

Cherry lovers, beware. One of summer’s sweet rewards will all but disappear from the market soon.

The storm that drenched the state on Memorial Day also devastated California’s cherry crop at the height of harvest. Only about 15% of the cherry crop had been picked by the weekend, and the remaining tree-ripened cherries swelled and cracked after absorbing water from the more than 2 inches of rain that fell, cherry grower Ralph Lucchetti said.

“What I’ve been telling folks is, if you’re going to bake a cherry pie, go get your cherries today,” said Mike Henry of the California Farm Bureau Federation.

In addition, rain continues to threaten later-ripening Washington cherries, which are expected to reach supermarket produce departments by mid-June. The crop grows more vulnerable as harvest day approaches, said a spokesman for the Northwest Cherry Growers.

Washington is the nation’s leading cherry producer, with a 1989 crop of 40,000 tons. California ranked second with 26,000 tons. Other sources of cherries include the Upper Midwest and the Northeast.

The damage to the crop cost California growers more than $36 million, but the toll on the state’s economy in lost wages and business could swell to more than $100 million, the California Cherry Growers said in a preliminary estimate. Growers had to lay off 10,000 pickers, and shippers furloughed 4,000 packing-house employees normally working overtime well into June.

“I realize that California needs water but, boy, it sure hurt the cherry growers,” said James Christie, general manager of the San Joaquin Valley Cherry Shippers in Lodi. The harvest would have been completed in 10 days, he said.

Lucchetti said the storm was the worst in memory of his neighbors, “some of whom go back 50 and 60 years,” mainly because of the timing.

“It was a beautiful crop,” he added, “a nice size--and just in its prime.”

California’s apricot crop also sustained damage, losing about 15% of the fruit statewide. In parts of Yolo and Solano counties in the Sacramento Valley--the center of the state’s apricot production--the loss climbed to 70%, a survey by the farm bureau found. Ripe strawberries in the fields lining Monterey Bay from Santa Cruz to Watsonville also were damaged, though another crop is expected as soon as growers can clear plants of damaged fruit.

As often happens in agriculture, however, one farmer’s misfortune is a neighbor’s boon. In parched Fresno, where 1.5 inches of rain fell, growers were able to give their irrigation systems a money-saving rest.

But Fresno County’s agricultural commissioner, Cosmo Insalaco, warned farmers to keep a close eye on the weather. He said the unusual late May moisture may yet bring blight to apples, mildew to grapes, rot to peaches and nectarines and mold to alfalfa.

“If we get some sunshine and warm temperatures over the next few days, the damage will be minimal,” Insalaco said, “but there could be significant damage to several crops if the weather is cloudy and cool.

“The forecasts look good and, if they are right, hopefully the damage won’t be too bad,” he added. “We won’t really know until sometime next week.”