How Central Valley melon farmers works to combat summer heat

FRESNO COUNTY, Calif. ( KSEE/KGPE ) – We are in the peak of melon season and the farmworkers and their fruit are doing all they can to beat the heat.

“We understand these hot spells, unfortunately, they seem to be hotter than, you know, in the past,” said California farmer Joe Del Bosque.

Del Bosque works hard to provide a safe place for his workers.

“We give them training on how to protect themselves from the heat, what are some of the symptoms from heat illness.”

The workers start their day at dawn and work until 2:30 p.m., but Del Bosque takes each day and its weather conditions into consideration.

“If it gets really, really hot, we might send them home at 1 p.m. or something like that before it starts to wear on them,” Del Bosque said.

When they’re out in the field, the workers have a never-ending supply of water.

“They have shades so that when they take a break, they can sit down and rest.”

One crew alone will pick 12,000 melons in a day.

“When it gets hot, it makes more crop ripen faster, that means we have to pick all this crop before the heat can damage it,” Del Bosque said.

The farmers also take preliminary steps to help keep the melons cool.

“One of the things we’re able to do because of using technology, like drip irrigation, we can irrigate this field right after the crew goes home,” Del Bosque said.

They can water the fields every day if they need to, but they also spray the crops with clay material, at least three times a season.

“What it does, it helps protect the plant from the heat and it keeps the plant just a little bit cooler,” Del Bosque said.

The melons can get sunburned from too much exposure to the sun, deeming it unworthy to make it to the store.

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