California pear growers began harvest in the River growing district this week with bartlett and red bartlett being the first varieties to be picked this year.
Harvest in the River District will be followed in early August with Mendocino district starting harvest on Aug. 5 and Lake County district starting on Aug. 12.
In comparison to last year’s crop, bartletts are expected to see an 18% decrease in production, while other pear varieties are projected to be down by 16%, Zanobini said.
“The total anticipated production for all varieties is estimated at 2,004,350 boxes,” said Chris Zanobini, executive director of the California Pear Advisory Board in a press release. “This volume includes organic bartlett pears and red pear varieties that are growing in popularity, as well as over 510,000 boxes of golden russet bosc pears.
The River growing district, which produces 66% of California’s pears, represents the largest volume of California grown pears, according to the release. The Lake County region is the second largest at 22%, followed by the Mendocino growing region which produced 12% of California’s 2023 pear crop.