Pear orchards in the Sacramento area of California are currently out in
full bloom. They began blooming just prior to the large weather events
that California experienced in early March. The bloom does not look very
strong in Bartlett pear blocks in that district. The trouble that the
growers had last season with Fire Blight, and the need to remove large
amounts of wood off of their trees to combat it, left the potential for
less fruiting wood on the trees to begin with this year. The combination
of that, and the current state of the bloom, have left the potential
for a smaller crop in 2016 than what occurred in 2015. The Lake and
Mendocino county crops appear to be in better shape than the Sacramento
area at this time.