CIRCULAR 124 1958 Lavana s APRIL CHA N G ING PIEACh INDUSTRYA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION of the ALABAMA POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE E. V. Smith, Directo Auburn, Alabama CONTENTS Page METHOD OF STUDY ----------------------- 4 5 5 6 9 11 PEACH PRODUCTION IN ALABAMA-- Importance of Commercial Peach Areas Chilton County Peach Production Blount County Peach Production MARKETING: PEACHES IN ALABAMA Local Markets Northern Market Outlets Peach Packing Facilities in Alabama Methods of Selling Peaches SUMMARY 11 18 13 14 15 WHAT'S AHEAD 16 APPENDIX -18 FIRST PRINTING 4M, APRIL 1958 ALABAMA'S CHANGING PEACH INDUSTRY MELVIN W. SMITH, Assistant in Agricultural Economics M. J. DANNER, Agricultural Economists P EACHES RANK NEXT to apples and grapes in importance among non-citrus fruits in the United States. Fresh peach sales amount to about half of production and are second only to fresh apple sales in tonnage. 2 Clingstone varieties are used primarily for processing, whereas freestone peaches predominate the fresh market. Peaches sold for processing are produced primarily in California and other Western States. Alabama and other Southern States rely mainly on the fresh market for disposing of their peaches. Alabama ranks fifth in production among the Southern States that produce early peaches. Alabama and Georgia, which are the earliest producing states, attempt to have peaches for market in May. The season extends to August. These states continue to supply local markets and a portion of the national market after peaches have ripened in other sections. Alabama's major competition for the national market in early season is Georgia. Midseason peaches from Alabama have competition from the Carolinas, Arkansas, and California. Late season peaches compete with peaches from these areas and those from the North Central States. Usually prices paid for early ripening peaches are higher than those offered for mid-season and late peaches. This price advantage is important to the success of Alabama's peach industry,. which is greatly dependent on having peaches ripen ahead of those in other areas. 1 The assistance of T. B. Hagler, horticulturist, in furnishing information on ripening dates is acknowledged. 2 "Fruits Noncitrus by States, 1955 and 1956." Crop Reporting Board, U.S. Dept. Agr. p. 6. July, 1957. The most important peach-producing areas in Alabama are Chilton and Blount counties. In number of trees, the two counties rank 18th and 57th, respectively, among the peach-producing counties in the United States.3 Production in these Alabama counties has increased considerably in recent years. Estimates by the Alabama Cooperative Crop Reporting Service indicate that annual commercial production in recent years has been about five times that of 1950. 4 Increased plantings of young trees indicate that production will continue to increase in the next few years. Adequacy of local packing sheds to handle increased peach production in Alabama is somewhat doubtful. Packing shed facilities in Alabama are owned by grower-shippers who pack their own fruit primarily. However, they also handle peaches for other growers on a custom basis. Unless such facilities are greatly expanded, these grower-shippers may be unable to handle large volumes of peaches from small growers, since they are expanding their own acreage. Many small growers may be faced with the problem of finding new market outlets. One of the major reasons for making this study was to provide a better basis for handling some of these problems. Specific objectives of the study were to provide the following kinds of information about Alabama's peach industry: 1. Number of trees by age and variety in commercial peach counties. 2. Importance of present packing sheds as market outlets. 3. Probable size of facilities needed to pack the anticipated increased peach production in future years. 4. Information that will enable growers to make a better choice of market outlets. METHOD of STUDY Peach producers and packers in Alabama's principal commercial peach counties supplied most of the information for this study. Questionnaires were mailed to all peach growers having an orchard of 100 or more trees as listed by county agents. Those who did not respond by mail were interviewed. Producers were requested to furnish the number of peach trees by age and va3"U.S. Census of Agriculture, 1954." U.S. Bureau of the Census. Volume III, Special Reports, Part 2, Ranking Agricultural Counties. p. 68. 1955. S"Alabama Agricultural Statistics." Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries. p. 84. 1955. [4] riety, and information on marketing methods and market outlets used. Local peach packers were interviewed to obtain information on capacity and kinds of packing facilities, charges for packing, type of transportation used, plans for expansion, estimates.of future production, general market outlets used, and packing and marketing problems. PEACH PRODUCTION in ALABAMA Chilton County is located in the Upper Coastal Plain of central Alabama and about equally distant from Birmingham and Montgomery. Blount County is located in the sandstone hills of the north central section of the State approximately 30 miles northeast of Birmingham. There are no other important commercial peach-producing areas in the State. Chilton County supplies peaches to all small and large local market outlets in the central and southern sections of the State. The industrial areas in the Tennessee Valley and eastern section of Alabama afford markets for Blount County, in addition to Birmingham. Importance of Commercial Peach Areas NUMBER OF TREES. Results of this study show that Chilton and Blount couinties in 1957 had a total of more than 900,000 trees in commercial orchards, Appendix Table 1. Of all varieties in commercial orchards, Chilton County had more than three-quarters of a million trees, whereas Blount County had 120,000. VARIETIES. Elberta was the leading variety in Alabama in 1957 and has led for several years. However, in recent years there has been an important shift to earlier ripening varieties. Highly favorable prices for early peaches have greatly influenced this shift. For example, there has been a tremendous increase in the acreage devoted to Dixired, an early variety. The 10 leading varieties of the 49 planted in Alabama commercial orchards in 1957 in order of number of trees were: Elberta, Dixired, Coronet, Redcap, Halehaven, Redhaven, Cardinal, Keystone, Southland, and Hiland. All of the leading ones ripen before or with Elberta, indicating the shift to earlier ripening varieties. NUMBER AND SIZE OF ORCHARDS. The number of commercial - peach growers in Chilton and Blount counties totaled 471 [5] Chil- ton 431 and Blount 40. Orchards ranged in size from 100 to 22,650 trees, with an average of 1,917 per grower. Extremes of this range were in Chilton County, which averaged 1,816 trees per grower. Blount County had a smaller range with an average of 3,000 trees per grower. Commercial peach orchards averaged about 100 trees per acre. More orchards ranged from 1,000 to under 5,000 trees than any other group, Table 1. Approximately one-half of the orchards in the two counties fell in this range. The group having 100 to less than 1,000 trees made up 43 per cent of the orchards. TABLE 1. NUMBER AND PERCENTAGE OF COMMERCIAL PEACH GROWERS, BY OF ORCHARDS, CHILTON AND BLOUNT COUNTIES, ALABAMA, 1957 SIZE Trees per orchard Number 100- 999 1,000-4,999 5,000-9,999 Over 9,999 TOTAL Distribution of growers by size of orchard Number Per cent 204 235 19 13 471 43 50 4 3 100 Chilton County Peach Production VARIETY AND AGES OF TREES. The Elberta was the leading va- riety, although it was not the leading one in all orchards. Elberta, however, was the standard with which other varieties were compared for quality, yield, and ripening date. Elberta and Dixired varieties accounted for 28 per cent of all trees in Chilton County. The leading 15 varieties accounted for 84 per cent of the trees in the county. Some of the newer, earlier ripening varieties have caused considerable interest in Chilton County, as indicated by the number of young trees, Appendix Table 2. In the last 3 years, the most impcrtai t plantings have been early ripening varieties. These include, in order of importance, Dixired, Elberta, Coronet, Redcap, Keystone, Cardinal, Redhaven, Hiland, Halehaven, and Southland. More than 15 per cent of the trees under 3 years of age were Dixired. Elberta, Redcap, and Coronet each comprised about 10 per cent of the 1- to 3-year-old plantings. About 9 per cent of the 1- to 3-year-old plantings was Keystone. The most important age groups in order were 1 to 3, 4 to 6, 7 to 9, 10 to 14, and over 14 years. Trees under 4 years of age are considered non-bearing. The average life of a peach tree is about 12 to 14 years. [6] To maintain yearly production at present levels would require that only about 25 per cent of the trees be non-bearing. Yet non-bearing trees accounted for 63 per cent of all trees in 1957, Figure 1. It is evident that Chilton County growers have planned for greatly expanded production. RIPENING DATES. Average ripening date for the Elberta in Chilton County is about July 15. Ripening dates for other varieties in Chilton County range from 8 weeks before to 1 week after Elberta. The earliest variety in Chilton County, the Mayflower, usually ripens in late May. Others ripen later and the last is Rio Oso Gem, 1 week after the Elberta. There were 16 distinct ripening dates in Chilton County in VARIETY Elberta Dixired Redcap Coronet Halehaven Keystone Redhaven Cardinal Southland Hiland Early Red Fre Shippers Late Red Dixigem Golden Jubilee Hiley Other Others not indicated 5 111, 5 E D .. Non-bearing age Bearing age _ 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 Proportion of all trees (per cent) FIGURE 1. Distribution of peach trees in Chilton County, Ala., commercial orchards in 1957 is shown by variety and bearing age. [7] 8 6 1/2 6 5V2 4 4 31/2 3 21/2 2 11/2 I 1/2 1/2 i Weeks before FIGURE 2. 1/2 I Others not indicated Elberta Weeks after before Estimated percentages of trees that will ripen specified weeks and after Elberta in 1958 and 1960 in Chilton County, Ala., commercial orchards. relation to that of the Elberta. Based on present plantings, the period of peak production will probably change from the Elberta season in 1958 to 6 weeks before Elberta in 1960, Figure 2. In 1958, about 23 per cent of the total bearing trees are expected to have peaches ripen at the time of the Elberta. Based on plantings this percentage should drop to 16 per cent by 1960. For the earlier ripening period, 6 weeks before Elberta, it is estimated that in 1958, 16 per cent and in 1960, 21 per cent of the total trees will produce peaches. Varieties maturing peaches more than 6 weeks before the Elberta are expected to account in 1960 for 11 per cent of all trees. EXPECTED NUMBER OF BEARING TREES. The expected number of trees of bearing age by variety in 1958, 1959, and 1960 is given in Appendix Table 3. In 1958, the number of bearing-age trees will be 46 per cent greater than in 1957. The estimated increase from 1958 to 1959 is in excess of 100,000 or 24 per cent. In 1960, [8] the increase over 1958 will probably be 363,000 trees or more than 50 per cent. Through 1960 the leading variety is expected to be Elberta. Based on the foregoing projections, the Dixired will have the greatest increase in number of bearing trees from 1958 to 1960, with approximately 60,000 trees. This is more than double the number expected to produce in 1958. Most of the new, earlier ripening varieties can be expected to more than double in number of bearing trees from 1958 to 1960. These increases, of course, are subject to prices and weather conditions. For example, the smaller increase of 24 per cent from 1958 to 1959 probably is due to the freeze of 1955 when there were no peaches produced. Farmers responded by planting fewer trees than they did the previous year. Actual production of peaches is even more influenced by weather. Blount County Peach Production VARIETY AND AGES OF TREES. The leading variety in Blount County was Shippers Late Red, with about 11,000 trees, Appendix Table 4. Rio Oso Gem was next in importance with 10,000 trees. These varieties, both of which produce late peaches, made VARIETY Shippers Late Red Rio Oso Gem Elberta Halehoven Early Red Fre Dixired Cardinal Redhaven Coronet Southland J.H. Hale Mayflower Golden Jubilee Keystone Redgold Other · Others not indicated , Non-bearing age Bearing age Br a O 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 Proportion of all trees (per cent) FIGURE 3. Variety and bearing age of peach trees in Blount County, Ala., commercial orchards in 1957 are shown above. [9] up more than 17 per cent of the trees. The information from Blount County was not complete because many of the peach growers could not give variety information. This accounted for about 22 per cent of the trees. Early ripening varieties in Blount County did not have as large a proportion of trees in the 1- to 3-year age group as did Chilton County, Figure 3. Moreover, varieties were mixed in orchards more than in Chilton County. There were several varieties in the 1- to 3-year age group that were about as important as Shippers Late Red. Few trees in Blount County were older than 10 years of age. RIPENING DATES. The average ripening date of Elberta in Blount County is about July 25. This, however, may vary as much as a week because of climatic conditions. Ripening periods varied from 8 weeks before to 5 weeks after Elberta. The peach season usually begins the first of June and lasts until August. Varieties in Blount County had 18 different ripening periods. In contrast to Chilton County, the ripening period with the largest number of bearing trees in 1958 is expected to be 1 week Per cent 2_2 27.9 20 1958 18 16 1 960 - 12 6 -: 8 761/2 651/24/24 31/423 21/22 1/2 I1/2 1/2 Elberta I 2 5Others not indicated Weeks before FIGURE 4. Weeks after Estimated percentages of trees that will ripen specified weeks before and after Elberta in 1958 and 1960 in Blount County, Ala., commercial orchards. [10] after Elberta, Figure 4. Little change in ripening periods in 1959 and 1960 is indicated. EXPECTED NUMBER OF BEARING TREES. The expected number of bearing trees by variety in Blount County for 1958, 1959, and 1960 is reported in Appendix Table 5. The number of bearing trees is expected to increase 31 per cent from 1957 to 1958, 24 per cent from 1958 to 1959, and 25 per cent from 1959 to 1960. These increases are primarily in late producing varieties, principally Rio Oso Gem and Shippers Late Red. MARKETING PEACHES in ALABAMA Local Markets Local markets have been the primary outlets for peaches produced in Alabama. It is difficult to estimate the volume that moves through these outlets because of their location and variation in size. Outlets range in size from the largest city, Birmingham, to small towns. The major local outlet is Birmingham, equally accessible to both of the major producing counties. Peaches of all grades packed in all types of containers are sold on this market. Sizes of containers included one-half bushel, bushel, and split baskets. The 12-quart split basket was the most popular container. Grades varied from U.S. No. 1 to cull.5 Farmers, for many years, have sold field-run peaches at the Birmingham market. Consequently, variation in quality of fruit has been a critical problem. The principal effect of this quality variation has been a wide spread in prices, Figure 5. Most packers selling culls have been more interested in quick disposition than in price. Peach producers selling field-run peaches on the Birmingham market have been in direct competition with packers selling cull peaches. Except in years of extremely small crops, Chilton and Blount counties have been able to supply the Birmingham market adequately. The ability of this market to absorb additional amounts of peaches, with prices that have existed for the past few years, is doubtful. Alabama grown peaches were on the Birmingham market from May 22 to August 24, 1956, Figure 6. Local production supplied all peaches sold in Birmingham until the week of July 21. From July 21 until August 24, other states competed with Alabama, SCull peaches are too low in grade or too small to pack for shipment. Fieldrun peaches are packed in the same condition as they are picked. [11] Dollars 3.00 2.75 2.5 " 2.25 2.0 1.75 1.00. 75 Ii I;7L July I August Ij 1JuneI 1,000', of /2-qf. baskets 10 FIGURE 5. The curves show daily high and low prices of 12-quart baskets of peaches during the 1956 season at Birmingham, Ala., Ai June I July I August I FIGURE 6. Supply of Alabama field-run and cull peaches in 12-quart split baskets from May. 22 to August 24, 1956, at Birmingham, Ala. which kept prices from rising as the supply from Alabama de- clined. Local, larger markets, in addition to Birmingham,' included Montgomery, Mobile, and small cities in northern Alabama. The same conditions prevailed in Montgomery as in Birmingham excep t yolume. was smaller and major- supply was from Chilton County- growers. The market outlet in Mobile, was quite similesr to. those in Birmingham and Montgomery except quality of fruit was better. [12] Market outlets in the Tennessee Valley included the tri-city area of Florence, Tuscumbia, and Sheffield, and small towns along the Tennessee River to Scottsboro. These outlets were supplied by Blount County growers and other small growers in northern Alabama. Small cities and towns were usually served by growers, peddlers, and truckers. Roadside stands, principally operated by growers, are located on U.S. Highway 31 through Chilton County. This highway connects Birmingham and Montgomery. Only a few roadside stands sell peaches along highways in Blount County. Northern Market Outlets Most peaches packed in Alabama for distant markets were sold in the East North Central area of the United States. Principal cities that received Alabama peaches in 1956 and 1957 included Chicago, Detroit, Cincinnati, and Cleveland. A total of 268 carload equivalents in 1956 and 41 carload equivalents in 1957 were shipped to these and other northern markets. The Federal-State Inspection Service estimated that 25 per cent of the peaches in Chilton County were packed for distant shipment in 1956. Peaches must be properly graded, inspected, packed, and hydrocooled at the shipping point if they are to compete on the national market. Alabama growers must provide these services if they are to compete with other areas. A number of packers in Chilton County had packing facilities and furnished information for this study: Peach Packing Facilities in Alabama NUMBER OF SHEDS. There were 6 packing sheds in Chilton County in 1957 with facilities for processing a total of 1,410 bushels of peaches per hour. Before the 1960 harvest season, two packers plan to expand their present facilities to a capacity of 1,550 bushels per hour. Blount County did not have packing facilities for the 1957 season. The Blount County Peach Growers Association had plans, however, to provide facilities for use by its members by the 1958 season. FEDERAL-STATE INSPECTION SERVICE. Federal-State Inspection Service was used by all sheds. Packers considered inspection necessary to compete in the national market. TYPES OF CONTAINERS. All operators used one-half bushel baskets in the beginning of the peach-harvesting season... Bushel [1831 baskets were used during the latter part of the season when prices declined. HYDROCOOLING. Four of the 6 sheds were equipped with hydrocoolers. Those without such equipment used hydrocooling facilities of other sheds on a custom basis. Hydrocooling, the reduction of temperature in packed peaches to 50 degrees Fahrenheit or less, was considered necessary by all operators. PACKING CHARGES. There was little variation in packing charges between sheds. The average charge per bushel for packing, selling, and hydrocooling was $1.50 in 1957. The charge for hydrocooling was 25 cents per bushel. CAPACITY OF SHEDS. Capacity of the sheds varied from 60 to 400 bushels per hour of packed fruit, Table 2. Packing facilities were not used to capacity because of variation in volume of peaches ripening during the season. Most operators considered operation of 40 per cent of capacity over the entire season necessary to cover fixed and operating costs. The minimum volume reported necessary for covering costs varied from 10,000 to 40,000 bushels per season. Size of shed and percentage of volume custom packed were major reasons given for this variation. TABLE 2. CAPACITY OF COMMERCIAL PEACH PACKING SHEDS, CHILTON COUNTY, ALABAMA, 1957 AND 1960 Per hour capacity of present packing sheds Expected 1960 1957 Bushels A... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. B C D E F TOTAL Bushels 400 400 250 200 150 150 1,550 4 00 400 250 150 150 60 1,410 The size of shed facilities cannot be based on an average crop but on peak production periods of the various seasons. Packing facilities for 450,000 to 500,000 bushels will be needed in 1958. The distribution of ripening dates tends to determine how efficiently plant facilities can be used. Methods of Selling Peaches Operators of the packing sheds sold peaches on both f.o.b. and consignment. The f.o.b. sale was preferred in order to shift risks to the buyer at shipping point. [14]1 In development of a market for farm products, such as for peaches in Chilton and Blount counties, methods of selling become more complex as distant markets are used. It is apparent that distant markets will have to be more heavily relied on if the increased production of Alabama peaches is absorbed in market channels at satisfactory prices. This will require more familiarity with the methods of selling on these markets. Many growers and perhaps packing shed operators will undoubtedly find some of these methods a new experience. In general, the basic methods of selling in terminal markets direct from local growers and packers are consignment and f.o.b. CONSIGNMENT AND F.O.B. SELLING. The consignment method permits the packer to ship peaches to a terminal commission merchant, who sells them for a fee. The duty of the commission merchant is to exercise reasonable care and diligence in handling, storing, and caring for the peaches consigned to him for sale. He is also liable for any losses resulting from a breach of this duty. Buyers who take title and pay for peaches at the packing shed were termed f.o.b. buyers. Therefore, sale by the packer was known as f.o.b. sale. Under this method, buyers inspect the peaches and agree on a price with the packing shed operator for a definite number of packages. Thus, the f.o.b. buyer has title to the peaches in the marketing channel until he sells them. SUMMARY Peaches are produced both for processing and the fresh market. California and other Western States produce 95 per cent of the processing peaches. Alabama, as well as the other Southeastern States, rely for the most part on the fresh market for disposing the crop. Peach production in Alabama has increased considerably in recent years. In 1954, Chilton and Blount counties ranked 18th and 57th, respectively, in numbers of peach trees in peach producing counties in the United States. In these two counties, which are the major producing areas in Alabama, the total number of trees in commercial orchards in 1957 was slightly over 900,000 with most of these in Chilton County. Sizes of orchards varied from 100 to more than 20,000 trees, with an average of almost 2,000 trees per grower. Extremes of the range were found in Chilton County. Blount County had a [15] smaller range but a considerably higher average number of trees per grower. The 10 leading varieties in Alabama commercial orchards in 1957 according to number of trees were Elberta, Dixired, Coronet, Redcap, Halehaven, Redhaven, Cardinal, Keystone, Southland, and Hiland, most of which are early ripening. Elberta has been the leading variety for many years. Early ripening varieties were the leading ones in Chilton County, whereas late varieties were most important in Blount County. Non-bearing trees accounted for 63 per cent of all trees in 1957. In the last 3 years, the most important plantings have been early ripening varieties. WHAT'S AHEAD A greatly expanded Alabama peach crop is in prospect. In 1957 more than 60 per cent of the trees in the State's commercial orchards were 1 to 3 years old-young, non-bearing trees. Therefore, in the next few years, Alabama will have an increasingly larger volume of peaches to put on the national market than heretofore. Producers in Alabama are shifting to early ripening peaches. Moreover, the acreage has been rapidly expanded and probably will continue in the next few years. In Chilton County expansion is expected to be toward larger numbers of trees per variety on the farm rather than an increase in number of varieties per farm. Another commercial area may be developing in Alabama. In the past, Blount County has mainly supplied local markets. For this reason, small numbers of many varieties have been planted in that county to supply such markets., However, production has now increased beyond the needs of local markets. Consequently, Blount County growers are faced with the problem of selling in distant markets. More packing facilities needed by 1959. Capacity of peach packing sheds in Chilton County should be enough for handling increased production in 1958. With normal conditions the sheds are likely to handle 450,000 to 500,000 bushels. An additional 250,000 bushels can be expected in 1959 if normal conditions prevail. Such an increase would require additional packing facilities-one large central shed of. 400-bushelper-hour capacity, or two medium-sized sheds, or the present sheds expanded to handle the increased volume. [16] A normal year in 1960 would increase production by 857,000 bushels over 1959. Such an increase would require the equivalent of at least three additional large packing sheds to handle the enlarged volume in Chilton County. Growers in Blount County plan to construct a cooperative packing shed for the 1958 season. One large packing shed in that county should be adequate for handling the next three crops through 1960. The volume of cull peaches will increase. The large increase in production in 1958, 1959, and 1960 will result in a considerable volume of cull peaches placed on local markets, principally by packing sheds. These large increases in cull peacheswill move in direct competition with field-run peaches and at more highly competitive prices. This will tend to keep local market prices depressed. It means, also, that cull peaches probably will be sufficient to furnish local market needs that up to now have been supplied primarily with field-run peaches. Supplies of cull peaches are likely to be large enough to offset any increase in demandby 1960 because of population growth, shifts in industry, or general price increases. What can peach growers and packers do? A growers' cooperative in Chilton County could be justified in 1959 or 1960, unless several of the large growers decide to build or expand packing sheds. Still, a cooperative may be one of the best means of providing facilities because of the large number of small and medium sized growers in that county. The possibility of expanding existing packing sheds, whether handling peaches or other fruit and vegetable crops, should be investigated. Existing sheds have the advantages of established market contacts, credit arrangements, and physical equipment. [17] APPENDIX APPENDIX TABLE 1. NUMBER OF PEACH TREES IN COMMERCIAL ORCHARDS VARIETY AND AGE, CHILTON AND BLOUNT COUNTIES, ALABAMA, 1957 BY Variety 1-3 4-6 Age of trees in years 7-9 10-14 Over 14 All ages (Thousands trees) of 56.0 23.9 86.6 Elberta------------------------------Dixired ______________________________. 83.5 17.5 6.0 Coronet ._____________________________7.5 52.1 .1 Redcap 50.3 7.6 .6 Halehaven______________________ 21.5 11.7 13.1 14.3 0.3 1.7 .4 .1 7.2 2 .0 .0 .3 131.1 108.7 60.1 58.6 53.8 51.0 50.9 Redhaven---------------------------- 7.2 34.9 6.4 2.5 2 Cardinal 44.6 4.4 1.9 .0 .0 .0 .0 47.3 .4 Keystone ________________________ 11.4 2.1 1.0 .0 Southland _____________________-19.4 .0 H iland ------------------------------- .0 22.5 6.5 ---------------------------12.1 9.0 9.4 2.5 5.3 5.5 1.7 47.7 33.9 29.1 Shippers Late Red___________ Early Red Fre__________________ Dixigem _._____________ Golden Jubilee_________ Rio Oso Gem___________ Mayflower_____________ Hiley----------------- 4.4 10.0 4.3 2.9 5.7 1.7 3.2 8.8 6.9 1.6 7.7 2.9 1.4 2.1 3.1 1.3 1.1 3.0 .4 .2 1.4 .1 .0 .0 .2 .0 .0 .1 28.5 27.2 16.4 16.3 14.3 8.8 8.5 Sullivan Elberta________ Redskin--------------- 2.6 2.8 .7 .1 .0 6.2 Fair Beauty------------- 5.4 .7 .2 1.0 .0 1.9 .0 1.6 .0 .0 5.6 5.2 Other________ ________ Varieties not indicated TOTAL-------------- 20.6 55.8 562.7 14.1 24.9 172.5 7.2 16.5 123.5 3.8 2.1 43.0 .2 .0 1.2 41.7 99.3 902.9 1This group consisted of 29 other varieties. 2Less than 50 trees. [ 18 ] APPENDIX TABLE 2. NUMBER OF PEACH TREES IN COMMERCIAL ORCHARDS, VARIETY AND ACE, CHILTON COUNTY, ALABAMA, 1957 BY Variety 1-3 50.6 78.4 49.9 4-6 22.5 16.2 7.6 Trees by age in years 7-9 10-14 Over 14 All ages (Thousands of trees) 13.5 1.7 .1 Elberta________________ Dixired _______________ 34.0 0.3 Redcap---------------Coronet_______________ Halehaven______________ Keystone-RedhavenCardinal- - - Southland--H iland ----------- -Early Red Fre------Shippers Late 5.6 .6 2 121.9 101.9 58.2 .0 49.5 17.1 45.2 32.0 39.4 17.2 22.4 5.4 6.2 9.1 1.9 1.7 29.2 45.8 501.0 6.5 10.8 .4 .1 11.8 2 . .4 6.8 .0 1.9 .0 1.0 2 .0 .3 56.5 46.8 45.6 45.3 44.6 30.3 28.9 20.2 17.8 15.7 13.9 8.1 54.0 73.1 782.8 5.7 3.6 10.8 6.5 5.7 1.6 1.3 .0 6.4 5.2 1.6 6.6 2.1 7.0 7.5 98.1 2 .0 .0 .0 .0 .0 .1 .0 .2 .1 Dixigem ----------Golden Red-------- LH iley-------------- Jubilee 7.3 3.8 3.9 2.6 3.1 14.5 17.7 143.5 1.1 2.5 1.1 2.6 1.1 3.0 2.1 38.9 O ther 1 1 ---------- --- Others not indicated-. TOTAL---------- .3 .0 1.3 This group consists of 24 other varieties. 2 Less than 50 trees. 3 Data were collected for number and age of trees, but variety data could not be obtained. [19] APPENDIX TABLE 3. NUMBER OF BEARING TREES IN COMMERCIAL ORCHARDS, VARIETY, CHILTON COUNTY, ALABAMA, 1958, 1959, AND 1960 BY Variety 1958 Number of bearing trees' 1959 1960 (Thousands of trees) E lberta------------------------------89.2 Dixired---------------=------41.9 Redcap ---------------------------------------23.6 Coronet------------------== 100.9 56.7 116.2 101.2 --------19.7 37.6 27.8 58.2 56.4 43.7 Halehaven-------------------------------------___: 35.7 38.6 K eystone-----------------------------Redhaven----------------------------------------Cardinal ------ - --- -----Southland ----- - ___19.2 --- ----H iland--------------------------------- 7.8 22.8 8.8 11.9 :.17.4 17.6 27.6 14.6 24.1 45.6 44.5 44.6 29.9 14.6 18.3 28.9 19.8 16.7 Early Red Fre___ _ _____ _ Shippers Late Red------D ixigem -----------------------------Golden Jubilee________________________________ H iley----------------------------2 Other' - -- ----- --Others not indicated3 ---- ------------ -------------------14.4 15.5 8.9 13.5 7.2 -___________ TOTAL---------------------Percentage of increase 35.4 35.5 412.9 45.9 11.3 13.1 7.4 39.8 48.1 513.6 24.5 15.3 12.6 7.6 62.0 72.7 775.9 51.1 'Number of trees bearing in 1958 was calculated Eby adding all trees above 2 years of age in 1957. For those expected to bear in 1959, all trees above 1 year of age in 1957 were included except those above 14 years of age, less 20 per cent of the 10- to 14-year age group. The number of trees bearing in 1960 included all ages in 1957, except those over 14 years of age, less 40 per cent of the 10- to 14-year group. 2 This group consists of 24 other varieties. 3Data were collected for number and age of trees, but variety data could not he obtained. from previous year__________ [20]1 APPENDIX TABLE 4. NUMBER OF PEACH TREES IN COMMERCIAL ORCHARDS, VARIETY AND AGE, BLOUNT COUNTY, ALABAMA, 1957 BY 1-3 Shippers Late Red________ Rio Oso Gem Elberta Halehaven Early Red Fre___ 5.9 2.9 5.4 4.4 3.6 4-6 Trees by age in years 7-9 10-14 Over 14 All ages (Thousands of trees) 0.6 3.6 0.6 0.0 10.7 4.4 2.7 .0 .0 10.0 1.4 1.6 .8 .0 9.2 1.0 1.3 .4 .0 7.1 2.7 .4 .3 .0 7.0 .4 .3 1.5 1.0 .8 .5 .2 1.1 .0 .1 .0 .5 .0 .0 .3 .2 .4 .0 .0 .0 .0 .0 .0 .0 .0 .0 .0 6.8 6.3 5.7 3.6 3.5 3.2 3.0 2.4 2.1 Dixired 5.1 1.2 Cardinal 5.1 .9 Redhaven 3.0 .7 Coronet ___________________________ .0 2.6 Southland 2.1 .6 J. H. Hale Mayflower............. Golden Jubilee Keystone _............. 1.9 1.4 .7 2.1 .5 1.2 .2 .0 Jerseyland Redgold Other' -............... 2 Others not indicated ........ TOTAL.............. 1.1 .2 4.2 10.0 61.7 .6 1.2 4.6 7.2 29.0 .0 .0 .9 9.0 25.3 .0 .0 .5 .0 4.1 .0 .0 .0 .0 0.0 1.7 1.4 10.2 26.2 120.1 ' This group consists of 23 other varieties. 2 Data were collected for number and age of trees, but variety data could not be obtained. [21] APPENDIX TABLE 5. NUMBER OF BEARING TREES IN COMMERCIAL ORCHARDS, BY 1 VARIETY, BLOUNT COUNTY, ALABAMA, 1958, 1959, AND 1960 Number of bearing trees Vrey1958 Shippers Late Red -- 1959 (Thousands 1960 10.5 10.0 8.9 6.9 6.9 6.8 6.3 5.5 3.6 3.6 3.1 2.8 2.2 2.1 1.7. 1.4 10.0 26.2 118.5 25.4 of trees) Rio Oso Gem-------- E lb erta - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Haleh aven--- --- --- --- -- - --Early Red Fre ------Dixired ------------------ Cardinal ---------- ---Redhaven --------C oronet --------------- ---Southland ------------ --- 6.1 8.8 5.5 3.2 4.6 8.5 2.6 3.4 1.0 1.9 1.7 1.6 1.9 .1 .9 1.2 7.1 21.4 76.5 30.8 7.5 9.8 7.1 4.7 6.1 5.8 5.1 3.8 1.5 3.0 2.6 2.2 2.0 1.1 .9 1.2 7.2 22.9 94.5 23.5 - - --- J. H . H ale ---------------- Mayflow er--------------------Golden K eystone- -------------------Jerseyland -------------------Redgold ------------------ jubilee ----------------- ---Oth er2 ------- ----- 3 -----------Others not indicated ______________ TO T AL -- -- --- -- -- --- - -- --- -Percentage of increase from previous year__________ This group consists of 23 other varieties. 'Data were collected for number and age of trees, but variety data could not be obtained. 2 1 For method used in making calculation see footnote 1, Appendix Table 3. 1:22]