The Plum Industry in the Southeastern United States

Abstract

The plum-growing industry in the southeastern United States is small and fragmented. Its current lack of significance is underscored by the fact that the publication "Agricultural Statistics" fails to list plum production in any southern state. The most recent figures published by the Bureau of the Census of the Commerce Department report the agricultural census of 1974. For their purposes, only units having $2,500 or more in sales are considered to be farms. The 1974 on-farm plum production report for the Southeastern Region (16 states from Delaware to Oklahoma and Texas) indicated 891 acres of plums (521 a bearing) producing 1,447,400 lb or 34,460 bu of fruit. The states with the greatest acreage were Texas (299 a) and Georgia (126 a). In 1974, acreage and bearing tree totals were 66 and 53%, respectively, of their 1969 levels. On the other hand, the number of non-bearing trees had risen 140%. Thus, the overall tree population decline was to 73% of the 1969 level. I feel that these declines were merely secular and reflected the rationalization of agriculture which was occurring during the period toward more specialized and extensive units. The publication of the 1979 census figures is being anticipated with great interest.