San Joaquin Valley Agriculture 

View of San Joaquin Valley Large field of hot caps Tomato field

Fresh tomato harvest using 

gondolas

Mechanical harvest of processing 

tomato

Processing tomato inspection 

station

Lettuce field Lettuce harvest Carrot harvest

Carrot harvest Pesticide application of garlic Strawberry harvest

Print Page

San Joaquin valley Page 1 of 3

http://vric.ucdavis.edu/virtual_tour/sanjoq.htm 10/16/2015
Young sweet corn field

San Joaquin Valley Overview

San Joaquin Valley

The San Joaquin Valley is the most productive agricultural region in the world, cultivating more than 250 

crops.

Hot Caps

To help prevent early plantings of warm-season vegetables such as cucumbers, zucchini squash, and fresh 

tomatoes from frost damage, individual plants of small acreage plantings are covered with "hot" caps made 

from wax paper. The cap has twofold purpose: first in raising the daytime temperature to get a faster growth 

response and second for some frost protection due to the heat it retains. It has been estimated that the cap 

gives an additional 2o F of protection to the plant growing underneath.

Tomatoes

Approximately 15,000 acres of fresh tomatoes and 110,000 acres of processing tomatoes are grown 

annually in the southern San Joaquin Valley. Fresno County leads the state in tomatto production. Tomato 

culture is similar for fresh and processed tomatoes, although varieties and harvest practices are distinctly 

different.

Gondola of Green Tomatoes

Fresh tomato harvest commences in early June and continues through November. Fresh tomatoes are 

hand haravested at a mature green stage, transported to a packing shed where they are washed, sorted, 

graded, boxed and exposed to ethylene (a natural ripening hormone found in many fruits such as tomato) to 

provide uniform ripening conditions.

Processing Tomato Harvest

Processing tomatoes are machine harvested when they are red ripe and trucked to the processing plant in 

large trucks and trailers.

CDFA Inspection Station

Every truckload of tomatoes is sampled and inspected prior to processing by the California Department of 

Food and Agriculture (CDFA) to insure a standard of tomato quality for the state.

Lettuce Field

Lettuce is grown year round in California and accounts for 20% of the total value of vegetable production. 

The San Joaquin Valley is a major lettuce supplier two seasons per year. Iceberg and specialty lettuces are 

planted in midsummer for a late fall harvest and planted in late fall for a midspring harvest.

Lettuce Harvest

Skilled labor crews travel to production areas around the state with sophisticated harvest aid and packing 

equipment to maintain efficiency in the highly competitive lettuce industry.

Carrot Harvest

California is the major supplier of carrots for the US, and Kern County in the San Joaquin Valley is the major 

producer in California. Green-top bunch carrots are extremely field labor intensive at harvest, whereas cello 

and value-added carrot packs require labor and machinery in a processing facility.

Pesticide Application of Garlic Field

Garlic (pictured here), onions, melons, peppers and broccoli are some of the other vegetables with 

substantial acreage and production value in the San Joaquin Valley. Commercial fields are rarely less than 

40 acres in size, typically averaging 80 acres, and in rare instances, are as much as 640 acres planted to a 

single commodity.

Strawberry Harvest and Young Corn Field

Also prevalent in the San Joaquin Valley is the small-scale vegetable and/or strawberry grower. Twentyacre parcels are often subdivided among producers for the cultivation of miscellaneous vegetables, such as 

sweet corn, cherry tomatoes, eggplant, summer and winter squashs, asian vegetables and herbs.

San Joaquin valley Page 2 of 3

http://vric.ucdavis.edu/virtual_tour/sanjoq.htm 10/16/2015
Division of 

Agriculture and 

Natural 

Resources, 

University of 

California. 

All contents 

copyright © 2011 

The Regents of 

the University of 

California. All 

Rights Reserved. 

Development 

funding from the 

University of 

California and 

USDA, CSREES.

Please e-mail 

your comments 

to: 

vric@ucdavis.edu

Last updated: 

December 16, 

2014 | Website 

design by Lauri 

Brandeberry 

San Joaquin valley Page 3 of 3

http://vric.ucdavis.edu/virtual_tour/sanjoq.htm 10/16/2015