Pistachios in California

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The commercial pistachio industry is relatively new in the United States, although its success grew rapidly after its establishment.  Although the pistachio was introduced to California in the 1850s, they were not commercially grown until the 1930s.  The first commercial trees in California were grown with experimental plantings developed by American plant scientist William E. Whitehouse, which he started from nuts gathered from tree varieties in Iran.  From those nuts it took some time to develop the Kerman cultivar (California pistachio trees) and due to the long maturation period of the tree (15-25 years for maturity and peak production), insufficient production techniques and the dominance of the market by Iran, the first commercial crop was not harvested until 1976.  Iran was still the major world producer of pistachios until 1979 when changes in public policies created an opportunity for the United States’ pistachio industry to develop, namely the trade restraints with Iran following the hostage crisis and changes in tax policies for California almond growers in the 1960s.  Today, the United States is the second leading producer and exporter in the world.  California produces approximately 98 percent of the United States crop, with Arizona, New Mexico and west Texas producing the remaining 2 percent.

Sources:
Boriss, H., "Commodity Profile: Pistachios", Agricultural Marketing Resource Center, Agricultural Issues Center, University of California, December 2005.

"Commodity Fact Sheet – Pistachios", composed by the California Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom, 2011.

http://americanpistachios.org

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