Your source for orchard news & information in the Sacramento Valley
Almond growers have been a-buzz on the topic of bee hours. The concept of a bee hour was designed as a proxy for the amount of good bee foraging weather that occurred during almond bloom. Does low bee hour accumulation mean our 2019 crop is sunk? Continue reading
Thinning should occur roughly around the same time as ‘reference date’, or the point at which 80-90% of the fruit have a visible endosperm. The endosperm, a clear gel-like glob, will be found in the seed on the blossom end … Continue reading
Almond bloom diseases require specific conditions for infection – susceptible tissue, moisture, conducive temperatures – and these are often all present during bloom. Appropriate material choice, application timings and coverage are critical to minimize losses. Keep reading for susceptibility and treatment information for the primary spring diseases in almond production. Continue reading
This spring, I received many calls regarding the failure of vegetative buds to push, particularly in the Monterey variety. Affected trees are characterized by an entire scaffold that failed to leaf out, even though trees bloomed as usual and, in … Continue reading
Can you identify an ant by its mound? Of course, it’s better to base IDs off of the ant specimen itself, but for the more entomophobic among you, ant mound ID may sound like a fantastic alternative. Continue reading
Irrigation Evapotranspiration (ET) Report for Tehama, Butte and Colusa county CIMIS stations. Continue reading
Will you need to thin prunes this year? In order to keep fruit from falling through the sizer, you need to do some legwork and estimate your fruit set. If needed, thinning should occur roughly around the same time as … Continue reading
All eyes have been on almonds during the recent cold snap, but the recent weather has reminded Bill Krueger, Farm Advisor Emeritus in Glenn County, of a similar cold snap in 2006 and the resulting damage to olive bloom. Here I have republished an article Bill wrote of his 2006 olive bloom observations. Continue reading
Generally, when I am working with growers on a problem related to potted-tree establishment, the cause is lack of water movement into the potted media, creating tree stress. This results from the difference in soil particle size at the boundary between the orchard soil and the tree’s potting soil. Continue reading
There are a few nights in the upcoming 10-day forecast that predict temperatures at 32°F or lower. This post contains resources if you need information about frost protection. Continue reading
Band canker has been an increasing problem in young almond orchards in recent years. Some hot spot areas have suffered high damage and occasionally required the replanting of an entire pollenizer variety. Symptomatic trees have gumming on the trunk. In the first year of infection, gumming may show as a ring or band around the trunk (hence its’ common name). Keep reading for the latest research results. Continue reading
Meeting season has already begun to ratchet up! Speaking of meetings, we’re in the process of planning agendas and writing talks for a whole slate of upcoming UCCE grower meetings. Keep reading for a master table of the upcoming UC meetings. Happy holidays from all of us, and best wishes as we head into the next cropping year. Continue reading
Irrigation Evapotranspiration (ET) Report for the Woodland, Davis, Dixon and Verona CIMIS stations. Continue reading
Bacterial blast doesn’t occur every year, so when there are a large number of orchards affected, it is natural to want to look for patterns in the occurrence and severity. One of the orchards affected in 2017 was the Regional … Continue reading
Weekly olive fruit fly counts for locations in Glenn and Tehama counties. Continue reading