Fruits & Vegetables

An automated Agriplanter plants three rows of processing tomatoes at a time in a Yolo County field. It requires three to four employees, including a tractor driver.

Photo/Patricia Lazicki

The Brussels sprouts that farmers grow today no longer taste bitter thanks to breeding efforts through the years to produce sweeter varieties.The trendy vegetable has become a culinary superstar, with farmers ramping up production to meet growing demand.

Photo/Courtesy of Hitchcock Farms

Lettuce breeder Bill Waycott, who owns Nipomo Native Seeds in San Luis Obispo, developed a spinach-lettuce variety that is gaining momentum with chefs. Seeds are available to organic growers through distributor Row 7 Seed Co.

Photo/Courtesy of Nipomo Native Seeds

Carrots grow at a field in Imperial County. California remains the nation’s top carrot producer, with Kern County leading the state in production. 
Photo/University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources

Celery grows on the Southern California coast. University of California researchers adjusted water-use recommendations for the crop to maximize nitrogen going to plants and minimize leaching.

Salinas Valley farmers are on guard against a new variant of the soil-borne fungal disease Fusarium wilt in lettuce. An ongoing trial aims to find genetic sources of resistance to the new strain. 

Photo/Bob Johnson

The fungal disease southern blight impacts a processing tomato field. Growers have limited options for managing the disease, which can cause tomato plants to permanently wilt, reducing yields.

Photo/Alex Putnam/University of California, Riverside

Harvested blueberries line the fields of Porterville-based Homegrown Organic Farms. Sales of blueberries, strawberries, raspberries and blackberries have overtaken packaged salads as the top organic produce item.

Photo/Homegrown Organic Farms

Tremont Farms owner Tommy Bottoms, center, who grows processing tomatoes in Yolo and Solano counties, supervises his crew to ensure operations remain smooth during the first day of harvest last week in Winters. Growers projected a lighter crop this year due to the intense heat waves.

Photo/Caleb Hampton

New greenhouses at the Sam Farr Crop Improvement and Protection Research Center in Salinas will be used to conduct fruit and vegetable research.

Photo/Bob Johnson

A drone releases green lacewing eggs and predatory mites over a Salinas Valley lettuce field. Researchers say such aerial applications show promise for controlling aphids and other pests.

Photo/Addie Adams/UC Davis

Jim Correll, a University of Arkansas plant pathologist, specializes in spinach disease research, including in the Salinas Valley. While incidents of spinach downy mildew remain low, he says the disease is challenging because it continues to develop new strains.

Photo/Bob Johnson

Weed control near farms is a critical part of prevention efforts for impatiens necrotic spot virus. The disease, which can be devastating to lettuce crops, finds hosts in weeds and is spread by thrips.

Photo/Natalie Hanson

A crew in San Joaquin County harvests the region’s first melons of the season to meet retail demand for the Fourth of July holiday. Manteca-based Van Groningen and Sons, a grower, packer and shipper of seeded, seedless and miniature watermelons, expects harvest to continue through October. 

Photo/Christine Souza

Emergency declarations in several counties in the San Joaquin Valley have allowed processing tomato growers to use neonicotinoid pesticides to treat fields impacted by sugar beet leafhoppers. The insect pest transmits beet curly top virus, which leads to reduced yields. County agricultural commissioners made the declarations preemptively to contain the pest before it damaged too many crops.

Photo/Vicky Boyd

During vine seed harvest the fruit is ground as seeds are separated and preserved. Seed acreage has declined amid reduced production demand.

Photo/Vicky Boyd

In the Salinas Valley, University of California researchers are working to develop plant resistance to new evolutions of longstanding crop diseases in lettuce, including Fusarium, Verticillium and Pythium.

Photo/Marita Cantwell/Regents of the University of California

Cabbage growers in Ventura County are partnering with researchers at the University of California to control populations of diamondback moths.

Photo/Rob McCarthy

A new strain of fusarium wilt disease was discovered in Oxnard strawberry fields in 2022, prompting researchers to scramble to develop resistant strawberry varieties and short-term solutions.

Photo/Chris English/CC BY-SA 3.0/Wikimedia Commons

Research conducted by the University of California tested new insecticides for controlling lygus bugs, a top pest for strawberries. Additional research also explored whether beneficial insects, fungi and bacteria can help manage spotted wing drosophila, which has developed resistance to widely used insecticides.

Photo/Bob Johnson

The Western Cover Crops Council and the University of California established this crop demonstration at Park Farming Organics in Sutter County to showcase several varieties of cover crops.

Photo/Vicky Boyd

Guillermo Lazaro, left, and Mireya Gomez-Contreras stand near a field of produce grown as part of the Santa Cruz County-based Esperanza Community Farms, where they serve as co-leaders. The nonprofit operates the sustainable community agriculture project that leases land to new and beginning organic farmers. 

Photo/Courtesy Esperanza Community Farms

California farmers delivered one of the state’s largest tomato crops in recent years to processors last year. With bolstered inventory, processors contracted less tomato acreage from farms this year.

Photo/Vicky Boyd