Sacramento Valley Orchard Source

As we approach winter in the Sacramento Valley and almond trees enter dormancy, pruning becomes a top priority for many growers. Rain events are strongly correlated with the spread of fungal canker pathogens whose primary infection sites are pruning wounds. Results from sampling over 140 almond orchards found 21 different fungal pathogens associated with these canker diseases. While the pathogens differ in biology, there are common approaches to prevent infections.

It is important to consider irrigation of perennial tree crops leading up to dormancy to foster carbohydrate storage in the trees and to guard against the occurrence of freezing temperatures in dry orchards putting them at more risk to cold injury.

Join a panel of your Sacramento Valley Area IPM and Farm Advisors to hear about the latest research updates, 2019 field observations, and discuss key production and pest management issues in almonds and walnuts as we wrap up the season and look toward 2020!

Survival is the number one priority of a new orchard planting. Bacterial canker plagues many young prune orchards and rootstock selection can make a major impact on bacterial canker susceptibility. Learn which rootstocks have 100% survival in a UC prune rootstock trial at a high bacterial canker pressure site.

With the right varieties, a new almond orchard should be profitable for at least 20 years. Many decisions contribute to successfully meeting that target. One key decision is variety selection. Knowledge of the current and past variety planting trends of almonds in California may be helpful in this decision.