Overview

In the United States, nearly all of the commercially grown plums are hybrids of the Japanese plum introduced by Berkley nurseryman John Kelsey in the 1870s and subsequently hybridized by Luther Burbank in the late 1800s (California Tree Fruit Agreement).

Today, California is the dominant producer of plums due to its mild winters, minimal rainfall during the growing season and low humidity, which is ideal for the Japanese varieties. In 2007 the state produced 152,000 tons of plums from 37,000 acres of land. The total value of that crop was $101.1 million.

Four other states also raise plums commercially: Idaho, Michigan, Oregon and Washington. Together, these states produced 2,550 tons of canned plums; 1,300 tons of prunes; and 650 tons of frozen plums in 2007.  January 2009 . . . Plums

Other Links

• Dried Plum News, University of California Cooperative Extension.
• Food Consumption (per capita) Data System, ERS, USDA.
• Fresh Plums, U.S. Trade Statistics, FASonline, USDA, 2007.
• Fruit and Tree Nuts, ERS, USDA.
  
• Fruit and Tree Nuts Situation and Outlook Yearbook, ERS, USDA, 2008.
  
• Noncitrus Fruits and Nuts 2007 Summary, National Agricultural Statistical Service (NASS), USDA, 2008.
  
• Plums, Hortiscope, North Dakota State University Extension Service.
• Plums, Ministry of Agriculture and Lands, British Columbia, Canada.
• Plums, Postharvest Technology Research and Information Center, University of California, Davis.
• Plums, Sample Costs to Establish and Produce, University of California Cooperative Extension, 2004.
  
• Plums, University of Georgia.

Links checked January 2009.