Produce & Row Crop Intelligence: New DBM Tool Awaits DPR, Strawberry Supply Halved, Tomatoes Final

Produce & Row Crop Intelligence from MyAgLife arrives every Wednesday with field intelligence for California vegetable, berry and row-crop growers and their crop consultants. Subscribe free to get it by email.

Research through November 3, 2026, 11:20 a.m. PT. Weather runs through most of this week’s news. Rain the week of Oct. 18 cut fall strawberry shipments from Santa Maria, Oxnard and Salinas-Watsonville roughly in half,³ and cool, wet weather has pushed the Coachella Valley bell pepper harvest back about a week.² In the desert, Syngenta says it hopes to bring a new diamondback moth insecticide to California in early 2027, pending DPR registration.¹ In the valleys, the processing tomato season closed 8.6% below last year,⁵ and California’s cotton harvest passed the halfway mark.⁶

This week in numbers

• 55%: California cotton harvested by Nov. 1, vs. a 52% five-year average⁶
• 10.3M: Short tons of processing tomatoes delivered in 2026, statewide final⁵
• −50%: Salinas-Watsonville strawberry shipments, week ending Oct. 24 vs. Oct. 10³

Vegetables and berries: Brassicas, Peppers and Strawberries

1. Desert brassicas: Syngenta seeks California registration for a new diamondback moth tool

New this week · AgNet West interview with Syngenta, Oct 28, 2026; desert valleys and Yuma

Syngenta is waiting on the California Department of Pesticide Regulation to register its PLINAZOLIN technology, a Group 30 insecticide, and aims to introduce it in California in the first quarter of 2027, Syngenta representative Kyle Kuechel told AgNet West at the CAPCA convention in Anaheim. The product was registered in Arizona in 2025, and Kuechel said it performed well over about 10 months of use in the desert. Syngenta has run research authorization trials in California. These are company statements; the product has no California registration yet.¹

The target is diamondback moth in brassicas. Kuechel said repeated use of diamide insecticides has become harder where the moth has developed resistance to Group 28 products, so another mode of action would widen rotation options for cole crops as the desert winter harvest begins in November. He also said the El Niño outlook points to a warm, wet winter, which would make disease programs more important this season.¹

Next step: Before desert harvest gets going this month, review this fall’s diamondback moth counts and which insecticide groups each brassica block has already received. Watch DPR’s registration notices before planning 2027 rotations; until a California label exists, the product can’t be part of a recommendation.

Source: AgNet West: Syngenta prepares new crop protection technology for California growers in 2027

2. Coachella Valley bell peppers: cool, wet weather pushes harvest back about a week

New this week · AgNet West, Oct 29, 2026; Coachella Valley, Riverside County

Cooler temperatures and rain slowed crop development and field work in the Coachella Valley, and the bell pepper harvest is now expected to start about a week later than usual, AgNet West reported. Production is still forecast near average, but peppers could run smaller and total volume slightly lower. Red bell peppers are expected to start coming off in early November and could continue through the end of the year; green bell pepper harvest could run into December.²

Smaller fruit and a later start bear directly on packout and crew scheduling. The desert crop overlaps with the end of the San Joaquin Valley’s green bell pepper harvest, which may help keep supplies steady, while Georgia is already shipping. The report says weather over the coming weeks will decide timing, size and quality.²

Next step: Over the next two weeks, track fruit sizing and any rain-related fruit or foliar problems block by block, and share revised harvest-start estimates with the grower’s harvest and sales staff so crews and orders line up.

Source: AgNet West: Cooler weather delays Coachella Valley bell pepper harvest

3. Central Coast and Oxnard strawberries: rain damage cuts fall shipments roughly in half

Recent update · USDA AMS Market News, Oct 27, 2026; Santa Maria, Oxnard, Salinas-Watsonville

USDA’s Oct. 27 shipping-point report puts all three fall strawberry districts in short supply after rain damage the week of Oct. 18. Weekly shipments from the weeks ending Oct. 10 to Oct. 24 fell from 145,000 to 74,000 hundredweight in Santa Maria, from 127,000 to 68,000 in Oxnard and from 127,000 to 63,000 in Salinas-Watsonville. Oxnard supplies were too light to establish a market. In Santa Maria and Salinas-Watsonville, conventional flats of eight 1-pound containers sold mostly at $20 to $22 on Oct. 26, “much higher” than a week earlier, with organic at $26 to $28.³

USDA expects movement to keep easing through Nov. 7, slightly in Oxnard and Santa Maria and seasonally in Salinas-Watsonville, and lists quality and condition as variable. For fields being prepared for the next crop, DPR’s draft 2025 annual report on the soil fumigant 1,3-D is open for comment through Nov. 30. It reviews 2024 rules on lower-emission methods, setbacks, application limits and soil moisture.⁴

Next step: This week, walk rain-hit fall blocks for fruit rot and damaged fruit before the next pick, and note which fields are worth carrying versus closing out. If 1,3-D is part of the grower’s preplant plan, read DPR’s draft report before Nov. 30 and check that this season’s permits reflect current county conditions.

Source: USDA AMS: National Shipping Point Trends, Oct 27, 2026 (PDF)

Pesticide-use note: Current California labels, permit conditions and county requirements govern pesticide use. Verify them before making or changing a recommendation.

Row crops: Processing Tomatoes, Cotton and Wheat

4. Central Valley processing tomatoes: 2026 deliveries close at 10.3 million tons, down 8.6%

New this week · PTAB via Tomato News, Oct 27, 2026; Fresno, Yolo, Kings and Merced counties

The California Processing Tomato Advisory Board’s final 2026 figure, as of Oct. 26, is 10,322,771 short tons (9,364,660 metric tonnes) after a 17-week harvest, Tomato News reported. That is 8.6% below last year and 11.13% below the five-year average. Organic tomatoes made up 5.3% of the crop, 550,340 short tons, above the five-year average share of 4.9%. Fresno, Yolo, Kings and Merced counties delivered more than 64.6% of the total, and the top 12 counties 95.6%.⁵

The final number closes a smaller season and sets the baseline growers and processors carry into 2027 contract talks. For consultants, the weeks after harvest are the best time to record field-by-field disease, nematode and weed problems while they are fresh, before rotation and fumigation decisions are made for next year’s tomato ground.

Next step: Before winter rains, pull this season’s scouting notes and yield reports by field and flag blocks with recurring disease, nematode or weed trouble for soil sampling or a rotation change. Confirm with growers which fields go back to tomatoes in 2027.

Source: Tomato News: California final tonnage for 2026

5. California cotton and wheat: cotton harvest reaches 55% as wheat planting holds to average

New this week · USDA NASS Crop Progress, Nov 2, 2026; statewide (San Joaquin Valley cotton)

California’s cotton harvest reached 55% in the week ending Nov. 1, up from 50% a week earlier and ahead of the 2021–2025 average of 52%, USDA NASS reported Monday; 97% of bolls were open. Winter wheat was 35% planted, matching the average, and 17% emerged, against 15%. NASS rated the state’s wheat 80% good, 5% excellent and 15% fair. Growers had 7.0 days suitable for fieldwork, and topsoil moisture was 80% adequate, 5% short and 15% very short.⁶

A dry, workable week kept harvest moving ahead of average, which matters for getting stalks shredded and ground prepared before winter rain. For wheat, an on-time start and good early stands put attention on weed control and early nitrogen decisions. NASS reports these figures statewide, not by valley.

Next step: Before scheduling post-harvest work, check your county agricultural commissioner’s current cotton plow-down and host-free requirements. In new wheat, check stands and weed emergence over the next two weeks, especially after the first rain.

Source: USDA NASS: Crop Progress, Nov 2, 2026

Market snapshot: Shipping-Point Prices and Field Progress

USDA AMS, prices Oct 26; NASS, week ending Nov 1 · Salinas-Watsonville, Santa Maria, statewide wheat

Central Coast supplies are shrinking as the season moves toward the desert. USDA expects the first Imperial and Coachella valley f.o.b. reports for lettuce, broccoli and cauliflower the week of Nov. 8. Prices below are open-market f.o.b. quotes for Monday, Oct. 26, from the newest weekly report; a shipping-point quote is not a grower return.³

Strawberries Salinas-Watsonville and Santa Maria · flats 8 1-lb	Mostly $20–$22; organic $26–$28. Much higher than Oct. 19 after rain damage. Oxnard too light to quote.3
Iceberg lettuce Salinas-Watsonville · 24s film lined	Mostly $66.75–$69.75, slightly lower. Shipments fell from 243,000 to 88,000 cwt over three weeks.3
Broccoli Salinas-Watsonville · 20-lb crown cut	Mostly $15.55–$18.90, higher. Santa Maria lower at $11.55–$13.55.3
Winter wheat California · NASS Crop Progress	35% planted and 17% emerged by Nov. 1 (averages 35% and 15%); 85% good to excellent.6

From MyAgLife

ESA pesticide label tools: What bulletins, mitigation menus and calculators do

MyAgLife Newsroom · November 3, 2026

Pesticide labels tied to the Endangered Species Act can send applicators to EPA’s bulletins and to runoff and drift mitigation calculators. This explainer sorts out which tool sets enforceable limits and which only helps you check a plan against the label.

Read the article

Coming week watchlist

Nov 5 All crops, statewide: DPR’s virtual hearing on proposed eyewash and decontamination rules, 1:30 p.m.; written comments close the same day.⁷

Week of Nov 8 Lettuce, broccoli and cauliflower, Imperial and Coachella valleys: USDA expects the season’s first f.o.b. price reports.³

Nov 10 Lettuce, Salinas Valley: INSV and Pythium wilt variety trial field day, 10 a.m. to noon, USDA Spence Research Farm, 1572 Old Stage Rd. RSVP requested.⁸

Nov 30 Strawberries and other fumigated ground, statewide: comments due on DPR’s draft 2025 annual report on 1,3-D.⁴

What are you seeing?

Email info@jcsmarketinginc.com and tell us your crop, county and biggest field question.

We may take it up in a future edition.

Editorial note: Source findings and regulatory descriptions are summarized above. The “Next step” passages are MyAgLife editorial suggestions for field review, not source-issued prescriptions. This report does not award CE credit.

Sources

1. AgNet West, “Syngenta Prepares New Crop Protection Technology for California Growers in 2027,” Oct 28, 2026 (interview with Kyle Kuechel, Syngenta).
2. Hailey Smith, AgNet West, “Cooler Weather Delays Coachella Valley Bell Pepper Harvest,” Oct 29, 2026.
3. USDA AMS Specialty Crops Market News, “National Shipping Point Trends,” Oct 27, 2026 (prices Oct 26 vs. Oct 19; shipments for weeks ending Oct 10, 17 and 24); the link is replaced weekly.
4. California DPR, “DPR Releases Draft 2025 Annual Report on 1,3-D, Opens Public Comment Period,” Oct 16, 2026.
5. Madeleine Royère-Koonings, Tomato News, “California: Final tonnage for 2026,” Oct 27, 2026 (Processing Tomato Advisory Board figures via the California League of Food Producers).
6. USDA NASS, “Crop Progress,” Nov 2, 2026 (week ending Nov 1; California rows).
7. California DPR, “Save the Date: Hearing on Proposed Eyewash and Decontamination Regulations,” Oct 20, 2026.
8. Y.-C. Wang, UC ANR Salinas Valley Agriculture blog, “2026 Lettuce INSV-Pythium Wilt Variety Trial Field Day,” Oct 29, 2026, and field day flyer (USDA ARS, UCCE, California Leafy Greens Research Board).