News and Stories

Morning temperatures in the San Joaquin Valley, California’s primary citrus growing region, dropped into the mid-20s last night, February 19. Tonight’s temperatures are expected to be in the mid- to upper 20s. Freeze warnings are in place for most of the San Joaquin Valley through Wednesday.

• Currently, no problems been reported to lemon nor orange crops due to fruit maturity and high sugar content; the biggest threat is for Mandarins and Clementines, which are more susceptible to freeze damage due to thinner skin
• Citrus growers are using irrigation water and wind machines as frost prevention tools to raise temperatures a few degrees, decreasing the risk of damage to their crop
• Temperatures must be below 28^◦ F/-2.2^◦ C for a minimum of 4 hours to cause damage to crops
• A heavy freeze will rupture internal cells, causing fruit to dry out and become unmarketable

Please contact your Markon customer service representative for more information.

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