Ontario stone fruit growers are getting ready to harvest within the next few days, depending on the crop and area. “We have some earlier varieties of nectarines that would be harvested alongside the early golden plums which we’re expecting in the next few days to harvest,” says Sarah Marshall of Ontario Tender Fruit/Fresh Grape Growers.
Harvest was originally expected to be slightly later than last year. However, a hot spell this week in Ontario helped move up that timing. Peaches will harvest until the end of September while nectarines will go until the beginning of October. A variety of plums are grown in Ontario and while Japanese plums will be available from mid-July to mid-August, European plums will start in early August and go through the end of September. Apricots, which are a smaller crop for the province, will start in mid-July and go for four or five weeks.
As for the crop, Marshall says it looks good and there’s a positive feeling about the upcoming season. “Peaches are up a little bit from last year, nectarines are up a little bit and yellow plums we think are less than last year,” she says. She adds it’s been a good growing season for Ontario stone fruit this season that’s helped lead to that slight uptick in Ontario peaches. “We got very little damage in terms of frost and winter damage and we also have some trees coming into production,” she says. “We also got hit with some significant rains when we needed them and there’s been lots of heat which is good.”
Stone fruit demand
As for demand, Marshall is hoping for strong demand as it ships its fruit through Ontario and Quebec but also some to Eastern Canada and a bit to Western Canada as well. “We’re also hoping to get a little bit more in the marketplace. There’s been increased pricing on stone fruit coming in because of crop losses in other areas. We’re not as high as those price increases but we’re looking for a reasonable price increase to help offset increased production costs,” she says.
Looking ahead at stone fruit production in Ontario, there’s more movement towards a regional irrigation system across the Niagara region. “We’re surrounded by water here but not everybody has equal access to it so we’re looking at pipes in the ground in areas that don’t have access to it currently. I feel a lot more positive about it happening in the next few years. It just takes time,” Marshall says.
For your information:
Sarah Marshall
Ontario Tender Fruit Growers
Tel: +1 (905)688-0990
sarah@ontariotenderfruit.ca
www.ontariotenderfruit.ca