The skimpy fruits of El Niño
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Brown rot mars California peaches
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August 1, 1998
Web posted at: 8:31 p.m. EDT (0031 GMT)
From Correspondent Rusty Dornin
COURTLAND, California (CNN) -- Usually a season of plenty,
this year's California fruit crop is a story of fungus and
disease, courtesy of the weather pattern El Niño.
The winter rains and a cool, wet spring are bringing forth
brown rot in peaches, scabs on pears and a fungus known as
garlic rust.
"It's not just one crop in one region. It's multiple crops
in most of the state that have been affected to one degree or
another, and we're still not sure how's it's going to play
out," said Dave Kranz of the California Farm Bureau.
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CNN's Rusty Dornin reports on California's crop losses
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California's $25 billion a year agriculture industry is
reeling from the effects of the weather phenomenon El Niño.
"It's pretty much decimated our cherry crop, so the cherries
were hit early, and now with the pears, we're just seeing the
effects of cool, overcast days," said Dave Elliot of
Stillwater Orchards.
Some fruit is getting to market, but shoppers may find fruit
a lot smaller than what they're used to.
"We're buying largely smaller fruit, it isn't nearly as
mature and the other thing we have, because there's less
quantity with supply and demand, prices have been high," said
Bil Wilkinson of Green Leaf Produce.
It's an uncertain harvest.
"I can't wait until this year's over," Elliot said.
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