Articles
SUBTROPICAL AND TROPICAL FRUIT AND NUT CROPS IN CALIFORNIA, USA
Excluding the citrus fruits, the most important are almond, olive, pistachio, fig, and avocado.
They are grown in Southern California and in the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley.
Both regions have the Mediterranean type of climate suitable for growing these crops.
The increase in production is due largely to the following factors: introduction of new well-adapted cultivars from foreign sources; creation of new cultivars by breeding; newly developed methods for multiplying cultivars rapidly and efficiently in large numbers; efficient newly devised methods for irrigating and fertilizing; improved methods of insect and disease control; more efficient and economical methods of harvesting and handling; increased acceptance by consumers resulting from informative campaigns of advertising and promotion; increasing population resulting in need for increased production of all food crops.
In addition to the crops named above, about 70 other species of subtropical and tropical fruits and nuts are grown in California.
The most widely grown are date, kiwi fruit, pomegranate, oriental persimmon, macadamia nut, cherimoya, lychee, purple passion fruit, loquat, white sapota, and jujube.
These are to be seen mostly in home orchards, dooryard plantings, and hedgerows.