Watermelon in North Carolina hasn’t been as plentiful this year as it has in the past. Mark Falkner of L&M Companies says it’s due to prior weather conditions and tropical storms that came through, plus the current high temperatures are also taking a toll on the crop. “A lot of people have also cut back on acreage this year,” he said of crops coming out of Seven Springs, Kenly, and Kinston. Cantaloupe are facing high competition with the west coast; a $5.50/$6 FOB makes it hard for eastern growers to gain market share.
Melons risk burning in high temperatures
If temperatures remain high the watermelon crop is at risk. “I hope they don’t burn up,” said Falkner. Harvesting requires care in the heat, since the foliage helps cover the melons and prevents sunburn. “Once you go through and harvest if you’re not careful and knock down the foliage you may get a lot of sunburnt melons in 95 degree temperatures.” He says to work around the heat and for harvesting cantaloupes they harvest two to three times a day. “Once they start breaking and turning colour you have to go get them. If you don’t get them out of the fields and the next day they’re overripe then you’re going to have problems with them when you ship them out.” The hot weather also limits shipping destinations – overnight distances at most. “In this kind of heat if you can go overnight up the east coast that’s great,” said Falkner. Targeting the local area or selling back down south is ideal.
Working in high heat is difficult
Picking watermelons in high heat is difficult. Nobody wants to get out there in 95 – 100 degree weather and pick watermelons,” he said. “So we try to get them early and get them late. The middle of the day is tough on everybody and we have to take that into consideration. That could affect yields also.” For Falkner, besides labour, weather is always a challenge. “Mother Nature can throw us just about everything,” he said. “That’s one thing California doesn’t face; they don’t have a lot of bad serious storms. We get thunderstorms about every other day here and we never know what to expect from it.” Quality of watermelons is excellent; the key right now he says is to stay ahead. “The key right now is just staying ahead of it with the temperatures coming. You don’t want your watermelons to get overripe. They (could) get rejected so that’s why it’s so important to stay ahead of the crop.
For more information:
Mark Falkner
L&M Companies
Ph: (919) 981-8000
