Dry weather could mean smaller, but sweeter, peaches

<p>After enduring three months of unusually dry weather, Georgia's peach crop should be sweeter than usual, but the fruit may be smaller than growers had anticipated.</p><p>South Carolina, which competes with Georgia in peach production, has also seen some dry days, but its fruit is described as "very, very good."</p><p>With adequate chill hours during the winter and no damaging frost in the spring, some experts were predicting Georgia would have one of the sweetest and best crops in a decade. Those expectations have been tempered somewhat by three months of unusually dry weather.</p><p>Fort Valley, located in the heart of Georgia's peach production area, has received only 4.20 inches of rain since March 1, 8.63 inches less than during the same period last year. The excessive rain last year pumped up the peaches, but deprived them of sweetness.</p><p>"We need a little moisture," said Al Person of Big 6 Farms in Fort Valley. "We'll have good tasting peaches that are not quite as large as we'd like them and there won't be as many of them."</p><p>Frank Funderburk, the extension coordinator for Peach County, said the fruit may be smaller, but their taste is excellent.</p><p>"They're still getting 2 1/4 to 2 3/4-inch peaches, but they're smaller than the growers would like," he said.</p><p>"We would like to have 2 1/2 to 3-inch peaches," said Betty Hotchkiss, spokeswoman for Lane Packing Co. in Fort Valley, one of the state's largest growers with 2,500 acres. "I think the consumer prefers to have a larger peach."</p><p>Since growers are paid less for smaller peaches, the smaller fruit could mean lower prices for consumers, Funderburk said.</p><p>Georgia's harvest began in early May and will continue through the second week of August.</p><p>Hotchkiss said her company expects a good season, but it will depend on weather conditions through the summer.</p><p>"Sunshine and dry weather promote sweetness and flavor. That's the positive," she said. "You need to balance that with rainfall to have good size."</p><p>Even though Georgia is known as the "Peach State," it traditionally trails South Carolina in production. California, the No. 1 producer, grows about eight times more than either state. South Carolina has about 17,000 acres, about 2,000 more than Georgia.</p><p>Both Southern states produce about $50 million worth of peaches each.</p><p>"I'm not giving up by any means," said Pearson, who has 1,400 acres of peaches. "Things in the spring looked perfect, but we've had a long run of dry weather and we're having to adjust."</p><p>South Carolina growers began harvesting about May 22 and will continue through September.</p><p>"We are a little dry," said Martin Eubanks, a senior commodity merchandiser for the South Carolina Department of Agriculture. "We have had some scattered rainfall which helps. Hopefully, if we can get the rainfall at the times need it, combined with irrigation, we will see normal fruit sizes."</p><p>"We anticipate the eating qualities to be outstanding," he said. "The quality has been very, very good thus far."</p>

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