This year's 2024-25 California forecast for the Tango and W. Murcott Afourer mandarin varieties shows that fruit set per tree is up 12% from the previous year. The survey expects an output of 29.0 million 40-lb. cartons for both varieties.

The report is based on the results of the 2024-25 Mandarin objective Measurement (O.M.) Survey, which was conducted from July 1 to September 1, 2024. Estimated fruit set per tree, fruit diameter, trees per acre, bearing acreage, and mandarins per box were used in the statistical models estimating production.

A combined 323 Tango and W. Murcott Afourer Mandarin groves were randomly selected proportional to county and variety-bearing acreage, and 310 of these groves were used for the survey.

The average set per tree increased to 666 this year in comparison to 593 in 2023, the output is still not back to its peak number, 863 in 2020, but is constantly increasing since 2021.