In Washington, the largest apple producing state, growers reported a smaller 2020 crop due to alternate bearing season with lower yield, a windstorm, and wildfires. Sizing was smaller in 2020 compared to last season.
In California and Oregon, wildfires were reported reducing the size of the crop. In New York, cold snaps in late April and first week of May 2020 caused concerns about potential frost damage to apples, but crop recovered and had higher yield than the previous season. In July 2020, new pathogen was discovered that causes bitter rot disease in New York apples. In Michigan, late spring with cool to cold weather delayed development of spring buds. Most of the state experienced a late bloom except the very southeast part of Michigan. Severe freeze occurred on May 9.
Most areas bloomed a week late except southeast Michigan, which was a few days late. Warm weather returned mid- to late May, which produced an earlier bloom, however yield decreased compared to previous season.
Apricot utilized production in 2020 totaled 33,290 tons, down 31 percent from 2019. Bearing acreage was estimated at 8,860, down 8 percent from the previous year. The average yield was 3.77 tons per acre, down 1.23 tons from the previous year. Of the total utilized production, 18,120 tons were for the fresh market and 15,170 tons were for processing. The value of the crop totaled $34.4 million, down 25 percent from the previous season, with an average annual price of $1,030 per ton.