Valencia oranges, the primary source of orange juice in California, are ripening on Valley trees this month but the 2022 crop looks to be down from recent years. On March 9, 2022, the USDA National Agriculture Statistics Service (NASS) released the 2021-22 Valencia Orange Objective Measure Report.
The initial 2021-22 Valencia forecast is 17.2 million cartons, down 9.4% from the previous season’s total utilized production. It is also the lowest since the 2017-18 season, which was the smallest crop in the last decade. This season has experienced scattered precipitation in some areas but mainly warm and dry conditions in January and February.
Survey data indicated an average fruit set per tree of 541, a 0.7% decrease from the previous year and slightly above the five-year average. The average March 1 diameter was 2.459 inches, down 3.6% from the previous year and the smallest sized orange in the last decade.
Source: thesungazette.com
Photo source: Dreamstime.com