Recent rainfall across Tulare County has provided much-needed moisture for local crops, including citrus orchards.
“Very beneficial, very beneficial, it saves irrigation here. We got an inch and 75-hundredths,” said citrus grower Dan Certini, who farms in Visalia with his wife, Linda Gaile Certini. The couple has been farming citrus in the area for decades and noted that the rain has offered welcome relief after a dry summer.
“Here we don’t get any rainwater during the summer, so we have to pump from the underground. There is no surface water, like ditch water or canal water. So we have to pump from the underground aquifer, but we welcome a good rain like that because it saves the aquaphor down below,” Dan explained.
Linda added, “Trees take it all in, and the fruit grows, so it’s always a blessing for rain.”
While the rainfall has helped reduce irrigation demand and improve soil moisture, it has also created short-term delays in harvesting. “I know there’s been some mellow golds, grapefruit, and other specialty citrus that gets harvested this time of year, that, you know, might have either delayed entry into the orchards, or caused some muddy conditions, or, you know, created some headaches around scheduling, you know, picking crews,” said Tricia Stever Blattler of the Tulare County Farm Bureau.
According to the Farm Bureau, muddy orchard conditions can take several days to dry, temporarily disrupting citrus harvest schedules and limiting access for picking crews.
Source: ABC 30
Frontpage photo: © Ken Cole | Dreamstime
Publication date:
Thu 16 Oct 2025
