Arkansas strawberries arrive early, signaling start of fruit season
April 16, 2024
By Tracy Courage
U of A System Division of Agriculture
Fast Facts:
- Strawberries expected to peak late April or early May
- Freezing temps earlier in year did not cause significant damage
(431 words)
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – There’s good news for Arkansans looking forward to strawberry season: There’s no more waiting.
This year’s strawberries arrived one to two weeks earlier this month, with the season expected to peak in late April or early May.
“Normally our peak is closer to Mother’s Day, but we’ll peak earlier this year,” said Amanda McWhirt, extension fruit and vegetable horticulture specialist for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture. “The temps warmed up earlier this year, and we were able to protect the plants through the cool spells. We may have had a little damage to the crowns from that ice and snow we had, but we were able to get row covers on them. With warm days in March, the plants started coming out of dormancy and started growing.”
Strawberries suffer damage when temperatures dip below freezing, but most growers were able to get row crop covers on their plants.
Randy Arnold, president of the Mid-American Strawberry Growers Association, said he’s seen just a little damage to some of his 75,000 strawberry plants at this farm near Alma.
“I’m realizing just a little damage and seeing the smaller nubbins,” which he sells as seconds, he said.
Arnold picked his first strawberry on April 1 and has been picking ever since to keep pace with demand. There’s sometimes a waiting list at the Arnold Family farm Store on Highway 71 in Alma.
“The demand is as big as I’ve seen it,” he said. “We picked 900 pounds today, and they were gone by 1:30 p.m.”
In Central Arkansas, Barnhill Orchards was busy picking and selling quarts of berries at its drive-through at 277 Sandhill Road in Lonoke.
“Our berries came in about a week early,” said Ekko Barnhill, who manages sales. “We have a new variety we are using — Ruby Junes. They are big strawberries, very red and sweet. Our customers absolutely love them.”
Barnhill said her family planted 8 acres of berries this year, one more acre than last year. She expects peak harvest around the first or second week in May.
“As the temp gets warmer, the berries put on faster,” she said. “The extra heat makes them a little sweeter, too.”
To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit www.uaex.uada.edu. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram at @AR_Extension. To learn more about Division of Agriculture research, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station website: https://aaes.uark.edu. Follow on Twitter at @ArkAgResearch. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit https://uada.edu/. Follow us on Twitter at @AgInArk.
About the Division of Agriculture
The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture’s mission is to strengthen agriculture, communities, and families by connecting trusted research to the adoption of best practices. Through the Agricultural Experiment Station and the Cooperative Extension Service, the Division of Agriculture conducts research and extension work within the nation’s historic land grant education system.
The Division of Agriculture is one of 20 entities within the University of Arkansas System. It has offices in all 75 counties in Arkansas and faculty on five system campuses.
The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture offers all its Extension and Research programs to all eligible persons without regard to race, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, religion, age, disability, marital or veteran status, genetic information, or any other legally protected status, and is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer.
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Media Contact: Tracy Courage
Director of Communications-Extension
U of A System Division of Agriculture
501-658-2044