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Forgetting about Fujis AP photo John Warmerdam of Warmerdam Packing says the company is getting out of the Fuji apple market. "They just aren't profitable," he says. Redder apples from Washington draw more consumers, he says. Apple lovers would rather see red, so California's growers give in By CHRISTINE HANLEY The Associated Press HANFORD, Calif. -- Fuji apples in the lower Central Valley are falling victim to an adage popular in more glamorous reaches of California: Looks are everything. Realizing that redder is better for apple lovers, especially when it comes to this particular variety, growers are giving up on the Fujis they still believe taste as good or better than those grown in Washington. One grower that isn't abandoning its California Fujis is Medford-based Naumes Inc. The company says there is a demand for the California Fujis early in the season before the Washington crop has come in. "They just aren't profitable," said John Warmerdam of Warmerdam Packing, which has pulled 49 of the 50 acres it was farming in 1997. "We couldn't compete against the color of the Washington apples." An estimated 2,000 acres of not-red-enough or just-too-yellow Fuji apples have been lost over the past two years in the San Joaquin Valley, replaced with other apple varieties or other crops altogether. Early forecasts for this year's harvest is 1.4 million boxes, down from last year's yield of 2.2 million boxes. Washington, a ruler in the apple market, could ship close to 8 million boxes of Fujis. One grower that isn't abandoning its California Fujis is Medford-based Naumes Inc., the nation's largest independent apple and pear grower. Company spokesman Tony Freytag says Naumes plans to keep the several hundred acres of Fuji orchards it has in the Marysville area. While the company grows the majority of its Fujis in Washington, Freytag says there is a demand for the California Fujis early in the season before the Washington crop has come in. The denseness of the Fuji apple, one of more than a half-dozen California varieties, allows it to maintain a distinct crispness on the outside while staying sweet and juicy inside. "When people bite into it, it's got a snap they like. It's got good flavor. It eats like candy," said Kenton Kidd, president of the California Apple Commission. "But you have to look at all the factors, and color is certainly a factor in the sales." Harry Andris, a University of California pomologist and farm advisor for Fresno County, said it's important to point out that the redness of a Fuji is strictly cosmetic and has nothing to do with the flavor. "But the world market and American consumers like red color," he added. The redness of a Fuji apple can be enhanced by cool temperatures like those in the Northwest. Conversely, the color can be washed out by blistering temperatures. "So in the San Joaquin Valley, where it is so hot during the day and where we have warm summer nights, it's extremely difficult to get red color," Andris said. Farmers have tried with little success to manipulate the color by light activation, using special reflective material on orchard floors to trigger the chemical reaction that would deepen the red pigment. Freytag says Naumes, too, tried this method but found it expensive and difficult. Others experimented with leaving apples on the tree longer, but the overmature fruit became prone to cracking once it was stored. So, at Warmerdam Packing and other apple farms, growers have either regrafted Fuji roots with other varieties like Granny Smiths, Galas or Pink Ladies, or replanted entirely different crops. The Apple Commission is in the midst of a survey to get an official count of how much Fuji acreage has been lost or converted, Kidd said. Although he knows of no new major plantings, Fujis are still deemed profitable in the upper portions of the San Joaquin Valley, where nighttime breezes help deepen their redness. "I think it's fair to say that most of the Fujis that were going to be removed have been removed at this point," Andris said. "There continue to be growers, particularly in areas where climates are cool, and they still make money." Today's Business Index Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA