Photos from the Field: Identifying Damage from Deer Mice in Almond Orchards

Deer mice are rarely a problem in orchards in California, but when present they can cause damage to irrigation lines and nuts in almond trees, as we found on a recent farm call. The mice were taking advantage of cracks in the shrink-swell soil to more easily create their burrows, which we may see more of in the future as more orchards with drip irrigation come into bear on these shrink-swell soils.

UC Drought Management Resources for almond, prune, walnut, and olive orchards

As of May 12, 2021, a drought emergency has been declared for 41 CA counties. This blog’s purpose is to share several University of California drought resources that have been created and vetted to support growers during this challenging year.

Mechanical Pruning of Prune Trees Update (2021)

In this article we will provide the latest information on the “why” of mechanical pruning, yields of hand vs. mechanically pruned trees, as well as the when, and how to mechanically prune.

May Almond Orchard Management Considerations

Read this article for almond orchard management tasks to keep in mind in May.

Checking Cropload and Shaker Thinning Prunes

When needed, shaker thinning can improve a grower’s bottom line this year and next year. Careful, timely thinning increases A & B size fruit production, limits small, lower value prunes in the bin at harvest and improves return bloom next year.