Since consumers tend to judge fruit by its color, snubbed fruit frequently goes to waste, resulting in millions of dollars in lost profits for the produce industry. Researchers recently discovered that use of reflective colored-plastic mulches significantly enhances fruit coloring and increases the food's appeal to consumers. "Field trials with San Joaquin Valley nectarine trees, for example, showed that when exposed to colored mulches, the fruit changed from an orange-red color to nearly purple," says Harry Andris, a UC farm advisor in Fresno County. Similar studies on Fuji apples resulted in attractive red, rather than pale-green, apples, he says. Further trials using red, yellow and blue mulches are planned to measure the potential for color enhancement of citrus and other deciduous fruit. Researchers are uncertain exactly how and why the mulching has such a dramatic effect on fruit color.