News and Stories

Parts of the Arizona/California desert growing region received sporadic rainfall on the morning of Saturday, January 10th and evening of Sunday, the 11th due to a passing weather disturbance. Approximately .15 inches have been recorded so far, but light showers are expected to continue through mid-morning. Minor harvesting delays are expected pending field conditions.

Although the amount of precipitation is not significant, the following rain-related issues in lettuce and tender leaf items may develop in the coming days:

• Bottom rot

• Decay

• Mildew pressure

• Premature pinking

• Shortened shelf life

If the above-mentioned defects develop, yields and carton weights that are already very low throughout the industry will decrease further due to further trimming and culling of damaged product.

The Oxnard, California growing region received a higher amount of rainfall over the weekend. Approximately 1.5 inches recorded will cause more substantial harvesting delays for celery, strawberries, and some tender leaf items such as cilantro in that region. Quality issues such as bruising and water damage will reduce yields in strawberries, and cilantro supplies may experience shortened shelf life. Celery quality is not expected to be affected significantly apart from elevated levels of dirt/mud in commodity packs.

Markon inspectors will continue to monitor quality closely and will update further as needed.

Please contact your Markon customer service representative for more information.

John Galvez

Quality Assurance

markon.com

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