Posted: Thursday, May 19, 2011 11:00 AM
Harvest begins for fruit crops
MODESTO, Calif. -- Harvests have begun for apricots and blueberries in California, and growers of each are expecting a normal crop.
Rain and cool temperatures during the bloom slowed development of apricots, but growers expect a normal-sized crop anyway, the California Farm Bureau Federation reports.
More than 95 percent of the U.S. apricot crop is produced in the Golden State, with a majority covering about 17,000 acres in the San Joaquin Valley, according to Apricot Producers of California.
The blueberry harvest has also begun, and growers expect to match last year's production despite hail and other weather problems that destroyed some of the crop in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta region, the state Farm Bureau reported.