PLANT CITY – Disease that wiped out millions of plants as the season dawned set the stage for an area strawberry harvest plagued by low production and lost profits.

Florida Strawberry Growers Association Executive Director Ted Campbell estimates that production was down 30 percent in the season that just wrapped up. He didn’t have specific figures, but in 2012-13 Plant City area growers produced about 25 million flats.

Gary Wishnatzki, president of Wish Farms, the area’s largest berry marketer, said farmers faced one challenge after another.

“Most growers will probably not come out of the season with a profit,” Wishnatzki said. “It wasn’t a good season; it was pretty tough.”

At the start of the growing season in the fall, two major nurseries shipped diseased strawberry seedlings to growers in Plant City. Growers had to rip up the diseased young plants and spray the ones that weren’t diseased.

As the season progressed, other challenges emerged.

December was a good month, with prices in the $12 to $14 per flat range. But January and February, generally two peak months, were so cool, cloudy and wet that plants weren’t producing many berries.

“When weather is good, it’s good for the farmer. When it’s bad, it’s bad for the farmer. But it’s all up to the man upstairs,” Grooms said.

Competition from growers in Mexico and California wasn’t as keen as in recent years because of unfavorable weather in both areas, Campbell said. And there wasn’t a shortage of pickers, due in part to the fact that there wasn’t as much fruit to harvest, he said.

He said he’s optimistic for next year because of a new variety of strawberry, the Florida sensation, should be available in large numbers. The new variety has a lot of good qualities including flavor that’s been a hit with consumers, Wishnatzki said.

Story from TBO.com