<p style="text-indent:0px; line-height:12px;"><span style="font-weight:bold;">San Joaquin Valley, Ca-</span><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">By ANUK Staff<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">1.14.13</p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p> This past Sunday night marked the coldest night of a 5-day freeze event in the citrus producing areas of the San Joaquin Valley. Temperatures took a dive in the early evening to the low and mid-20s. In citrus producing areas of Ventura, Riverside, and Imperial, growers faced slightly warmer conditions, with temperatures ranging in the mid-30s, and only a short duration of temperatures below the 32 degree mark, according to a press release.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">Four consecutive nights of temperatures in the low 20s and 30s will cause the crops to see some damage, the extent of which will become clear in the coming days. Measures taken to protect against frost were successful at raising temperatures above critical levels for the navel crop, which is expected to have suffered minimal damage. Due to the maturity and sugar level of the fruit at this point of the season, damage will not be extensive and most likely be limited to border rows. In the San Joaquin Valley, the navel crop can withstand temperatures as low as 28 degrees. Less-tolerant mandarin and lemon crops, with a cold threshold of 32 degrees, will likely see moderate damage. Assessments of the damage and the balance of the week will begin shortly.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">Jim Pandol, Owner of Delano based grower Pandol Marketing, noted that it may be too early to assess damage as it can take a while to manifest. After an orange suffers frost damage, it takes a few days for the ‘drying out’ to happen. Pandol is set to harvest in warmer areas free from damage and wait to harvest in colder areas with potential damage, holding off to allow the damage to show itself. The company will then handle the fruit according to their findings.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">Industry growers spent a combined total of $17.5 million on frost protection mechanisms, up from $100 million last season. Fuel supplies have not yet caused any issues, but it is expected that suppliers will be servicing units all Monday to prepare wind machines for another cold night this evening.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">In addition to fairly moderate temperatures, save for the latest freeze event, multiple factors have been playing on the growers’ side. This has allowed the crop to mature and boost sugar content, providing the internal protection it needs to avoid frost damage. The industry remains confident, however with 75% of a $2 billion crop still on the tree, growers are leaving nothing to chance and will be running water and wind machines tonight. </p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p><a class="btn btn-sm btn-primary col-lg-12" style="white-space: normal;" href="http://www.cacitrusmutual.com/" target="_new">California Citrus Mutual </a></p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">
