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  • Comanche Extension Agent Michael Berry
    Comanche Extension Agent Michael Berry
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Peach Production in Comanche County

A crop that is often overlooked and somewhat forgotten in the county is peach production. At one time Comanche County was a major peach production county in the state and nation and even though numbers are down we are still one of the top counties in the state for peach production.

Across the board peach orchard production in Texas has had a 65% reduction in just the last 20 years. In 1997 there were 9,520 acres of peaches in Texas; in 2017 the number had fallen to 3317 acres.

During the same amount of time vineyard acres have almost doubled. There is the potential for high per acre income with peaches, but not without challenges.

Here are a few of the major challenges to peach production.

Probably, the biggest challenge to peach production here in Comanche County is the occurrence of late frost. Officially, Comanche falls in the high chill region (HCR), studies of frost occurrence have shown that high chill areas have the greatest risk for frost and freeze injury in Texas. Basically, being in a high chill area we have a 33% chance of moderate frost damage, a 20% chance of severe damage, and a 47% chance of no damage on any given year. Freezes in the MODERATE category comprise 33 percent.

These freezes normally cause appreciative damage, but not total loss. Good site selection (elevated with good air drainage) and proper orchard floor management (firm moist soil or shredded cover crop with moist soil) can help minimize but often do not eliminate the damage.

Temperatures in the SEVERE category require additional frostprotection procedures such as orchard heating, wind machines, or sprinkler irrigation to avoid total crop loss.

This occurs 20 percent of the years in the HCR. Frost-protection procedures are designed to alleviate damage by maintaining temperatures above damaging levels.

Proper soil, adequate and quality water are potential barriers to having a successful orchard. Peach trees cannot tolerate saturated soil; they must be planted on well drained sites. To see if you soil has proper drainage for peach production use the posthole method. Dig a posthole 32” deep and 8” wide fill the hole with 5 to 7 gallons of water. If the water is drained out of the hole in 1 to 8 hours you have very good drainage, 8 to 24 hours is good drainage, 48 hours would be marginal and anything greater than 48 would be unacceptable. If your soil drainage is less than very good, planting on raised beds will help. I would also encourage you to use the NRCS soil web survey and a soil test to assess your soil for peach production.

Water quantity and quality are additional major factors for a successful orchard. While our average annual rainfall of approximately 28” is adequate for dryland peach production, it is very unpredictable and never falls as needed. As a result irrigation will be essential. Between March and August a mature peach tree will require 25 to 40 gallons of water per day, depending on crop load, temperature and evaporation rates. An orchard with 20x20 row spacing would have 108 trees per acre, at just 25 gallons per tree per week that would be 18,900 gallons per acre per week. Irrigation water must also be of good quality, before considering a site for orchard production make sure to have your water tested. Irrigation water is considered adequate if it has a SAR (sodium absorption ratio) below 3.0 or total salts below 1,000 ppm. An EC above 1.1 will also cause crop yield losses.

Labor is a major hurdle in any agriculture endeavor, but it is intensified in peach production. Growing peaches is labor intensive. If you are looking having an orchard as a part-time venture, 5 acres is about the maximum one person can handle, and you will still need help at pruning, thinning and picking time. If you are thinking about a fulltime orchard 20 to 25 acres is all one person can manage, but again you will need help during those critical times. Whether you are planning a part time or fulltime orchard do not plan on any spring or summer vacations, during this time of the year you will be using your vacation days to work the orchard.

It sounds like I am trying to scare anyone that might be thinking about putting in an orchard, that is not the case, but you do need to be aware of the risk and the commitment you are making. While there are many challenges, there is the opportunity for profits. The estimated average cost to manage one tree for a year is $45.00, which does not include any start-up cost, just annual management. On the 108 tree per acre orchard that would equal $4905.00/acre management cost. On a well-managed orchard by the fourth year you should average 1 bushel/tree on moderate soil, from the 5th year on you should hit the 2 bushel per tree mark on moderate soils. A bushel weighs 48lbs; our local prices seem to be stuck at a around an average of $1.50 per pound, so on the 5-year 108 tree/acre orchard you have the potential to make $15,552.00/acre. Other areas easily get $2.00 or more a pound for fresh grown peaches. You can do the math at different prices and see the possibilities. You do need to factor in that you could lose a crop every 3rd or fourth year to a late frost.

The demand for locally grown food and especially quality peaches seems to be a growing trend; this is certainly the case in more metropolitan areas. Marketing opportunities for Comanche County grown peaches should only increase in the future. If you have a location, enjoy working outside and can stand a little risk, you should consider a peach orchard.