October 22, 2009

The final tree is planted in the Advanced Teaching and Research Field Laboratory for Citriculture (the study of citrus). The Citriculture program was established through a gift from Paramount Citrus, providing trees, supplies and a student fellowship. Pictured left to right are: Fresno State President John Welty, Kevin Olsen of Paramount Citrus, and Charles Boyer, dean of the Jordan College of Agricultural Sciences and Technology. Kneeling front is senior plant science major Matt Smith, the 2009 Paramount Citrus Fellow.

One of the most-advanced and efficient irrigation systems in California will water citrus trees at California State University, Fresno, whose planting was made possible by a $200,000 donation from Paramount Citrus.

The gift and the new grove at Fresno State will be celebrated with a ceremonial planting of the orchard’s final tree at 10 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 22.

Through a contribution in late 2007, Paramount Citrus established the Advanced Teaching and Research Field Laboratory for Citriculture – the cultivation of citrus fruits – on the Fresno State agricultural laboratory (a 1,000-acre farm). The gift included citrus trees, supplies and funds to develop the orchard and to support a Paramount Citrus Fellow allowing a student a learning experience to tend the campus citrus groves and work at Paramount's S & J Ranches in Madera. The fellow also gains exposure to Paramount’s entire operation.

Participating in Thursday’s event are Fresno State President John Welty; Dr. Charles Boyer, dean of the Jordan College of Agricultural Sciences and Technology; student Matt Smith, the 2008-09 citriculture fellow; and Kevin Olsen of Paramount Citrus, who has been acting as Smith's mentor for the last year

The purpose of the fellowship is to attract bright agriculture students to work in the citrus field. Smith’s experiences ranged from preparing orchards for planting to walking them with a GPS device to determine soil types and tending the planted trees.

The Fresno State grove’s cutting-edge irrigation monitors soil and weather conditions remotely through Web-based technology. But the main water savings comes through an irrigation system tailored to account for varied soil structures. One part of the grove may be watered through microsprinklers for an hour a day, six days a week, while different soil elsewhere could be watered for six hours, once a week.

“We take enormous pride in giving back to the environment and communities where we live and work,” said Olsen. This funding for the Paramount Citrus Fellowship and the development of a citrus orchard at Fresno State allows us to cultivate both future citrus industry employees and innovative research.”

The citrus block made possible by Paramount’s gift features fruit that will be sold through the on-campus Rue and Gwen Gibson Farm Market, as well as on the commercial market. Eight acres of the 20 are dedicated to research purposes.

Paramount Citrus, based in Delano, is the nation’s largest citrus grower, packer and shipper.

It owns and farms approximately 30,000 acres (bearing and in development) of Clementine mandarins, navel and Valencia oranges, lemons and other citrus varieties in the San Joaquin Valley and Ventura County. Paramount also farms 10,000 acres of citrus, nuts and other permanent crops in the valley through its S&J Farm Management subsidiary.