Central California - February 27, 2013

This report covers conditions and observations made Tuesday, February 26, 2013.

Taken in the Vernalis area of western Stanislaus County, today’s photos for the central region present the peak bloom of the Sonora, the developing bloom of the Carmel and the first bloom of the Butte.

Blustery conditions returned to the central region on Tuesday, buffeting the orchards with wind speeds in excess of 25 mph during the middle of the day in the northern areas of the region. Light breezes at sunrise buffered morning’s minimum temperatures in many areas of the region, holding reported lows predominately in the upper 30’s, while wind sheltered areas dipped a few degrees lower. While afternoon highs were reported in the mid 60’s around the region, the blustery winds imparted a pronounced chill to the air, making the apparent temperatures seem much colder.

While the bees did put in a full day’s work in the orchards, “flight operations” were impacted by the windy conditions, impeding the intensity of their efforts in the windiest locations, particularly along the west side. Accordingly, observers reported 6 to 7 hours of fair to good activity for the day, with best activity reported in the southern areas of the region.

The bloom in the central region is becoming more diverse with each passing day. Many Sonora plantings along the west side of the region are now at or near their peak bloom. This is also the case with advanced examples of the Fritz, even as younger, more vigorous plantings are displaying as little as 20% open bloom.  Observers in the along the Highway 99 corridor and along the eastern foothills are also reporting a wide diversity in the bloom, but not as pronounced as is visible along the region’s west side.

Nonpareil and the California type varieties have moved ahead strongly over the past two days. The California types lead the Nonpareil and now have a majority of their flowers open and available for pollination. Across the region, the Carmel has been progressing a bit more deliberately and is running just behind the Monterey. As shown in the third of today’s photos, advanced examples of the Butte along the west side are now just beginning to display a few open flowers.
The windy conditions failed to deter growers from their daily labors. Tractors could be seen pulling mowers through bearing orchards and crews could also be observed installing irrigation systems in newly planted orchards. Those with new orchards cold also be found pulling scrapers and orchard floats through the fields, smoothing the floors of the new plantings.

Conditions