Californian growers are gearing up for another early season of their summer crops following record high temperatures in parts of the state. 

California Fresh Fruit Association (CFFA) president Barry Bedwell said the industry may be roughly two to three days ahead of last season, which was early in itself.

The high temperatures began around Friday (March 13) last week, when a high pressure system built up over parts of the state.

"I think that once again we're experiencing an early season, and this heat certainly confirms and accelerates that," he told www.freshfruitportal.com.

"Having said that, this weather is highly unusual and once again continues to set records. That 91°F (33°C) I think we had in this area [Fresno] on Sunday was an all-time record for the date by four degrees, and one of the hottest temperatures we have seen in the month of March ever."

He added that growers he had spoken to didn't believe the hot weather would impact negatively on quality or sizing, but a concern right now was the potential for hail and even frost, which were common around this time of the year.

"Even though there's nothing on the horizon, the fact is that those things can still happen pretty much through the month of April and potentially May. So people are just on the lookout. We'll keep our fingers crossed," Bedwell said.

"Everything should be able to come together and once again we should have a strong but early start to the season."

The hot weather will likely affect the majority of summer crops, including blueberries, cherries, stonefruit and table grapes, Bedwell said.

He added it was a matter of conjecture at this point trying to guess exact harvest dates.

"We could have a cool down all of a sudden two or three days ahead and it could even become a day or two behind last year. So it still has a chance to fluctuate," he said.

The first blueberry harvests would typically start around mid to late April, with stone fruit and table grapes following in early May, but were all shaping up to be a few days early, Bedwell said.

When asked whether there had been any noticeable increase in plantings for certain fruits, the CFFA head said it seemed as though much of the industry was focused on replacing varieties rather than significantly increasing production.

"What's fascinating is we're monitoring quite a few acres that are being pulled that may be replaced by newer varieties, but overall we see the stonefruit sector as being now in a more consistent state," he said.

"We also see table grapes being consistent rather than an automatic increase in production because people seem to be pulling acres and maybe coming back in with them, but we're aren't anticipating any real initial increases in production."

He added while the situation with congestion in U.S. West Coast ports probably wouldn't be '100%' back to normal by the time the export campaigns get under way, it should be close enough not to cause any measurable impact on shipments.

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