Jujube goes prime time

On any given day you might find Roger Meyer of Fountain Valley strolling through acres and acres of jujube trees, but despite the sweet connotation, this is not a stop in the popular children's game Candyland. Jujubes are more than just a movie theater treat. They are a hardy-growing fruit with an apple-like flavor that is widely sought after in Asian markets. They can be eaten fresh or enjoyed in confections ranging from soups to baked treats.

"The volume of the fruit has gone way up, but most Americans still don't know about them, even though they've been here for almost 150 years," Mr. Meyer says. The demand for jujubes, also known as Chinese dates, has taken the once-small niche crop into expanded and rapid growth and has put a serious dent in the fruit's profitability for growers like Mr. Meyer.

He says a few years ago he was earning between $3 and $4 a pound for the fruit, but the increase in plantings has dropped the price down to an average of $1 a pound and sometimes as low as 30 or 40 cents a pound. Mr. Meyer has been a long-time buyer of jujube trees. A chemist who owns Valley Vista Kiwi on the side, he is considered an expert on jujubes being grown in the United States. He was introduced to the crop nearly 40 years ago when a hunt for kiwifruit vines led him to a grower in Redding who had another unusual planting for Meyer to try. With a little coaxing, Mr. Meyer took his new bare-root jujube trees home and planted them without any idea of what they needed or how they would do.

"I didn't know if what I was doing was right or wrong, but the fruit started coming," Mr. Meyer says. "I had no idea of even when to eat them." Mr. Meyer discovered the fruit's potential to make a profit by chance. He had taken one to work with him one day, and when a Korean coworker cast excited eyes upon it, he thought he might have something.

"He just went ecstatic for them and says he hadn't seen them for years," Mr. Meyer says. "His excitement sounded like a way to make money to me." Richard Molinar, a small farm advisor with the University of California Cooperative Extension in Fresno County, has been studying jujubes for years and has seen firsthand the growth in acreage. Fresno County reported 30 acres of jujubes in 2005 and Mr. Molinar expects that number has risen up to 80 or 90 acres with 100 to 125 acres statewide.

"It was slowly growing," Mr. Molinar says, "but in the last year or so, new plantings have been fairly dramatic in growth." Ron Ludekens, vice president of L.E. Cooke Co. in Visalia, also can attest to the growth in popularity of the jujube. The company is one of a limited number of commercial nurseries in the United States that sells the fruit.

For decades the nursery enjoyed a near-monopoly on the trees that were being sought after primarily by Asian farmers. It is only recently, Mr. Ludekens says, that sales have started to drop. "Only in recent years have some of my competitors started carrying them, which has caused some of our sales to level off some," Mr. Ludekens says.

Part of what has made the jujube an attractive crop for farmers is its hardiness. The fruit grows best in long, hot summers with cooler temperatures in the evening, conditions ideal for most of California. They can survive temperatures as low as minus 20 degrees. Harvest typically begins in August and can extend into the late fall, depending on the variety.

"In California they are primarily being grown in the desert and the Central Valley, but I suspect they would do well in a lot of different places," Mr. Ludekens says. The crop has very few problems with pests, and the only real problem is with limb breakage caused from the heavy load of fruit, Mr. Molinar says. A typical tree can yield 180 pounds of jujubes in one harvest.

"The jujube is a great crop for growers who like to see instantaneous results," Mr. Ludekens says. "Last January the crop didn't even exist. It was nothing more than a bare-root stock. Then a short time later it was full of fruit. It really is amazing how quickly they grow and how young they produce fruit." Hundreds of jujube varieties grow in China, the Mediterranean and the Middle East. In California, the principle varieties are Li and Lang.

Li grow to about 3 ounces and are round in shape. Their harvest times usually begin in mid-August and are considered the best option when starting a crop. The Lang variety is a midseason harvest that will resemble a large pear when ripe. The Lang variety is best when it reaches full maturity and is left to dry on the tree.

Other popular varieties of the jujube include the Sherwood, the Jin and the Sugar Cane, named by Mr. Meyer for its intense sweet flavor. Mr. Meyer says most of his sales come from the Li and Sherwood varieties and a smaller portion from dried Langs. In late spring and early summer, the jujube begins to bloom with fragrant white and light green flowers. According to the California Rare Fruit Growers, the flowers are most likely pollinated by ants, other insects or the wind. Most jujube trees will produce fruit without any cross-pollination.

The jujube can be eaten at different stages of ripeness. The fruit begins green in color and lightens to a greenish-yellow as it ages. The Li variety can be picked at this stage and are best eaten fresh. If left to ripen further, the jujube will develop dark mahogany spots and eventually turn completely red. After this stage, the fruit will begin to shrivel. The fruit is most popular in the stages between the greenish-yellow and red development, when it tastes crisp and sweet, somewhat like an apple.

"When they ripen to the mahogany red stage is when they're at their best," Mr. Meyer says

Source: centralvalleybusinesstimes.com