Peaches Bountiful This Summer

The peach crop is the biggest in most people’s memory. That’s how big the 2004 peach crop is, says Gary Gray, a regional agent with the Alabama Cooperative Extension System.

The Alabama Agricultural Statistics Service forecasts the state’s peach orchards will produce 31 million pounds of peaches this year.

“If that happens, the 2004 peach crop will be the largest since 1965 when production was 35 million pounds,” said Gray, who works with commercial horticulture in Clanton and the Upper Coastal Plains region.

The record for Alabama was in 1941 when 113.2 million pounds were utilized.

Harvest, which began in early May, is in full swing and will continue through Labor Day.

“Any way you look at it, it’s a whopper of a crop,” says Jim Pitts, the superintendent of the Chilton County Research and Extension Center. The vast majority of Alabama peaches are grown in Chilton County. Orchards can also be found in Limestone, Baldwin and Blount counties.

Pitts said dryer spring weather improved pollination of peach blooms, enhanced the overall flavor of the crop and reduced disease pressures in peach orchards.

“It’s been a great production year,” said Pitts.

While an abundance of peaches is good news for consumers, it is not necessarily good news for producers.

“Not only are we having a bumper crop, but other states are producing a lot of peaches as well,” says Bobby Boozer, an Extension horticulturist who works with the peach industry.

Georgia’s peach crop is forecast at 110 million pounds, unchanged from 2003. The South Carolina crop is forecast at 140 million pounds, up 40 percent from last year.

“The high volume has created an oversupply that’s led to lower prices this year,” says Boozer. “Some peaches may go unpicked if demand doesn’t warrant picking them.

“We want to encourage folks to buy Alabama peaches. Consumers will get what they want—great tasting fruit and producers in Alabama will be supported.”

For more information on U-pick farms around Alabama, you can visit the Department of Agriculture and Industries Web site, http://agri-ind.state.al.us/.

Posted by at July 30, 2004 09:19 AM | TrackBack