HMC News – July 2024
Never in our history have we experienced this many consecutive days at temperatures so extreme. To prepare we are irrigating more frequently and with greater quantities of water in both our orchards and our vineyards. We are also applying heat protection materials to combat the high heat on our mature and mostly mature stone fruit. We will do our best to harvest as much tree fruit as possible in the hours available which will be very limited in this heat. Our workers safety is of the upmost importance in weather this extreme.
We began harvesting California table grapes in a light way this month with some black and red seedless varieties. When harvesting in our table grape vineyards we employ the same diligence towards heat safety that we do in our trees. The later varieties seem to be fairing well through the heat wave, but only time will tell. Typically we do see a delay in harvest start dates when a heat spell occurs.
We are now picking all colors of grapes with Torch™, Flame, and Karizma™ red seedless, Ivory™ green seedless, and Sweet Bond™ black seedless. The first heat wave has ended and we are still assessing the affects of the weather on our orchards and vineyards. Fruit at different stages will react differently when stressed. In tree fruit, you will not see the effects of the heat on the fruit in the box, but we are seeing it as we pack. Our culls have more than doubled, with soft fruit being the biggest contributing factor.
The heat wave is finally coming to an end. Some berries may not be as large as past years, but the flavor is still there. In general sugars and color aren’t moving quite as rapidly as normal right now. All that said, this is the most we’ve ever harvested to date, thanks in part to some of our newer varieties coming into their first year of production. Just like grapes, stone fruit varieties were affected on a block by block basis. Harvest will begin ramping up again as the weather cools.
Pictured below is a sample of data we have collected from our fields utilizing Aerobotics, a company that utilizes technology to analyze crops. The data and images we receive using this technology help us monitor the health of our trees and vines by identifying areas where growth is weak or has stopped completely in our orchards and vineyards. With this data we can fine tune our farming practices to target specific areas that may need additional water, soil amendments, or may need to be replanted.
