For the $2.3 billion strawberry industry, it’s the second time a minority group has emerged from the fields in such a profound way. Japanese immigrants took over the industry as they grew in numbers after the turn of the 20th century.

Like the Japanese, many Latino growers are former pickers or the children of field workers who worked their way up to rent or own land.

Because strawberries can be grown on small plots nearly year-round and can yield more fruit and revenue per acre than most other agricultural crops, it’s easier for immigrants to get into the business, said Hal Johnson, who has developed varieties of strawberries since 1955 for California’s largest berry shipper-growers.

‘‘There’s hardly ever been a crop where an average picker who is aggressive and works hard can become a grower,’’ Johnson said. ‘‘If he (a strawberry picker) is a hustler and brings along other pickers, he can develop his own little empire.’’

Before World War II, Japanese immigrants grew more than 90 percent of California’s strawberries. But plant and soil diseases depleted their profits and the war brought the industry to a near-halt when Japanese growers were forced into internment camps by the U.S. government.

After the war, as pesticides helped eliminate diseases and researchers like Johnson came up with improved varieties, California’s strawberry industry boomed. More recently, increased consumer demand for fresh fruit and organics led to farmers expanding the berry acreage.

Many of the post-war growers were Hispanic braceros, agricultural laborers who arrived under government contract, and other migrant Mexican workers, Johnson said.

‘‘They saw the potential and grabbed on as hard as they could,’’ he said.