Mountain mandarin season is sweet in Placer County

Placer County's mountain mandarin season is finally here. I would like to take a moment to share why this fruit is so special and how you can help our local farmers protect this unique crop from an invasive threat. Our locally grown mountain mandarins, also known as Owari Satsuma mandarins, are sweet, delicious, easy-to-peel and fun to eat. But there is more to this dynamic fruit than meets the eye. Placer mandarins are loaded with vitamin C and synephrine, a natural decongestant that helps relieve cold and allergy symptoms. Our mandarin synephrine concentrations are as much as six times higher than those found in orange juice. A study by the U.S. Department of Agriculture concluded that 10 ounces of mandarin juice contains as much synephrine as one over-the-counter decongestant pill. The majority of our mandarin orchards are located in our Sierra foothills, which gives our mandarins their unique appeal. The temperature differential between the warm days and cool foothill nights causes the fruit's sugar and acidity levels to increase, giving Placer County mandarins their distinctive sweet and tart flavor. The mighty mandarin is an important crop for our local agricultural industry. According to the Placer County 2018 Agricultural Crop Production Report, mandarin crop values increased from the previous year by 27 percent to a total value of $2.6 million. I am proud of our mandarin farmers as well as their staff and families. They work hard to nurture their orchards from the first blossom to hand picking and packaging the fruit during the harvest season. It's tough work, but their diligence makes for a higher-quality crop. You can see for yourself by visiting some orchards during Mountain Mandarin Orchard Days in December. I highly recommend taking a tour of a farm to learn how mandarins and other crops are grown and harvested. You'll definitely develop an appreciation for mandarins and farm life. You can even pick your own fruit right from the tree, which is a personal favorite. PlacerGrown foothill farmers' markets are also a great place to meet with mandarin growers and pick up a bag or two of those delicious mountain mandarins. Visit placergrown.org to find and connect with mandarin orchards as well as local family farmers, ranchers, vintners and farm brewers. If you really want to hit the mandarin motherlode, then I recommend that you visit the popular Mountain Mandarin Festival later this month at the Gold Country Fairgrounds in Auburn. The festival features many Placer County mandarin growers, mandarin-related food and drinks, live music, crafts, vendors and family fun. As you can see, mandarins have an important role in our agricultural industry, local economy and our community. But you should be aware of an invasive species that could pose a serious threat to this precious crop. Mandarins, along with other citrus crops, are vulnerable to a growing concern in California: an invasive insect called the Asian citrus psyllid. This pest can carry a disease called Huanglongbing, also known as citrus greening disease. Just so that it is abundantly clear, this insect has not been found among our mandarin orchards. However, since last year, 200 square miles in south Placer have been under a citrus quarantine after the discovery of psyllids in western Lincoln in September 2016, and two more occurrences in Roseville. Luckily, the psyllids did not test positive for the disease. But as a precautionary measure, a quarantine has been put into effect for Lincoln, a significant portion of Roseville and portions for Rocklin and Granite Bay. The quarantine means that residents and businesses within the quarantine boundary cannot move citrus plants or fruits to locations outside the quarantine area. Again, the quarantine does not affect our commercial growers, including our mandarin orchards. But we need your help to keep it that way. You can learn more about what you can do to help prevent the spread of insects and disease by visiting CaliforniaCitrusThreat.org. Remember, just like a bag of mandarins, mountain mandarin season doesn't last very long, so get your hands on this sweet superfruit before it's gone. Jim Holmes is the Placer County supervisor for District 3, which covers a portion of North Auburn, Ophir, Newcastle, Penryn, the Town of Loomis and City of Rocklin. To contact Holmes, call 530-889-4010 or email broberts@placer.ca.gov.