Market Report: In San Diego, subtropical fruits are stars of the show

Flowers and avocadoes are the most valuable cash crops in sunny San Diego County, which shares a long border with Mexico. Subtropical fruits aren't produced in sufficient volume to register in the annual tally of agricultural production compiled by the county agriculture department. But they're a highlight of any visit to a San Diego County farmers market. My purchases on my Jan. 15 visit to the market in the Hillcrest neighborhood include sapotes, a Buddha's Hand citron, passion fruit, longan, and, of course, cherimoyas. I buy two varieties, the nobby-skinned Dr. White, one of the earliest of the cherimoya varieties, and the other variety, whose name I did not jot down.