Harvests usually begin in mid-April in Kern County, where low-chill varieties like Brooks and Tulare are most prominent. Mike Jameson, director of marketing at Morada Produce Company, says the Coral variety is replacing some of the Brooks and Tulare plantings, especially around Bakersfield. “Coral takes about half the chill hours,” he says, which is a benefit over Brooks and Tulare, especially in the South Valley. Coral also has an improved shelf-life over the older varieties. “Coral is a meatier piece of fruit that just travels well. It has become desirable both domestically and internationally,” Jameson says.
Cherry growers north toward Fresno and west to Gilroy and Hollister are also cultivating more Coral cherries. “On the west side of the valley, we’re seeing a lot of grafting to Coral. There’s also grafting to the Royal varieties Tenaya, Tioga, and Hazel,” says Morada.
WHAT’S IN A NAME?
In cherry lore, the Lewelling name is royalty. Brothers Henderson and Seth Lewelling are responsible for three of the top cherry varieties that endure today. Both Lewellings had been living in Iowa in the 1800s and traveled the Oregon Trail to the Pacific Coast. Henderson brought fruit tree stock across the country, creating a nursery by the Columbia River in Willamette Valley.Though few cherry consumers know Seth’s name, buyers worldwide know the name of his Chinese farm foreman, ‘Bing,’ after whom he named a promising cherry tree in the 1860s. Nearly two-thirds of all sweet cherries grown and sold today are Bings. Two other major Northwest cherry varieties, the ‘Royal Ann’ and ‘Lambert’ were bred and christened by Henderson.
The Lewelling brothers, along with other settlers, built a thriving sweet cherry industry in Oregon, Washington, and California by the late 1800s and early 1900s. The dry summer climate proved ideal for fruit quality, while winters with few prolonged periods below freezing provided the chilling hours needed for proper tree dormancy.
California’s Bing and Rainier acreage is centered farther north, around Stockton and Linden, where there’s a better chance for the longer chill hours required by these varieties. In addition, cherry orchards are larger, on average, in California than in its Pacific Northwest neighbors. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), more than 100 California producers had 100-plus acre orchards back in 2012—a higher number of big cherry growers than in Washington and Oregon combined. A more recent USDA study on organics, from 2014, counted 300 acres of organic sweet cherries in California.
The bad news for organic cherry growers, says Poutre, is “more insect pressure.” The better news, however, is “demand for organics is very good. Our team is trying to encourage growers to take a look at it.”
In early 2016, higher-than-average chill hours and good winter moisture conditions boded well for California’s current cherry crop. “As long as we had the cold hours, we’ll have plenty to sell,” predicts Reiman.
Traveling North: Oregon
Like California and Washington, Oregon had a challenging 2015 season. “Due to the freeze damage in November 2014, our production here in Oregon was greatly reduced,” comments Oppenheimer Group’s Bailey, who works with Orchard Valley Farms, in The Dalles.
The freeze affected about 40 percent of The Dalles’ cherry trees. The two other cherry production areas are Hood River and the Milton-Freewater region. Milton-Freewater, in Umatilla County, reported a total crop loss in 2015, due to the November freeze. Oregon’s total production for 2015 was down by a quarter, shipping about 41,000 tons in 2015.
Bings are the mainstay, but acreage includes early season Chelan cherries and later maturing Regina, Lapin, Sweetheart, and Skeena varieties. “We see Skeena growing,” posits Bailey. “It’s a good, solid cherry,” he adds, noting Skeena is usually preferred over Sweethearts for late-season air shipments to Asia. “The Chinese market prefers the flavor and overall eating quality of Skeena over the Sweetheart,” he says.
