Lettuce crops bouncing back after early January ice

Desert weather in the Arizona and California growing regions has allowed for increased growth of lettuce products in early February, according to Mark Shaw, vice president of operations at Markon Cooperative Inc.

The Arizona and California desert growing region received almost a quarter inch of rain between Thursday and Friday, Dec. 30 and 31, followed by freezing temperatures, causing widespread lettuce ice Sunday, January 2 through Wednesday, January 5.

“The impact on desert row crop quality and yields was broadly felt on most head and leaf products through the majority of January, Shaw said.”

Iceberg and leaf varieties saw the most damage. Varying levels of epidermal blistering, peeling and mildew pressure are still present in some lots. Harvesting crews are sorting, selecting and trimming outer leaves from various lettuce crops to optimize quality. Most product defects are being eliminated or significantly reduced, Shaw said.

 “Volume on head and leaf lettuces [has] been increasing over the past two weeks, and we are seeing a supply exceeds market in the first week of February and is expected for a few weeks,” Shaw said.