Your source for orchard news & information in the Sacramento Valley
Katherine Jarvis-Shean, UCCE Orchard Advisor Yolo, Solano, & Sacramento Cos. DECEMBER Now that leaves are off the trees and mummies are easier to see, recheck your mummy count and update your plan for knocking and destroying mummies by February 1st. … Continue reading
Here’s your chance to influence the direction of walnut rootstock development! Tell UC and Fresno State your preferences in rootstock attributes and how much you’d value those enhanced characteristics.
Take this anonymous survey. It should take less than 10 minutes to complete. Continue reading
UC is hiring a Staff Research Associate to support the UC Cooperative Extension Orchards research and extension programs in the southern Sacramento Valley. If you know any hard-working folks looking to work in agricultural research and extension, please pass along this opportunity. Continue reading
Katherine Jarvis-Shean, UCCE Orchard Advisor, Sacramento, Solano and Yolo Counties Pre-harvest Monitor for navel orangeworm (NOW) to determine risk of damage. Walnuts that have made it through the season intact are most susceptible to damage when husks open. However, if … Continue reading
Katherine Jarvis-Shean, UCCE Orchard Advisor, Sacramento, Solano and Yolo Counties Harvest Timely harvest is important for nut quality. Delaying harvest can darken pellicles, and encourage mold development and navel orangeworm. Walnut color quality decreases most rapidly in the first nine … Continue reading
Katherine Jarvis-Shean, UCCE Orchard Advisor, Sacramento, Solano and Yolo Counties Post-harvest If you are pruning this dormant season, prune as early in the fall as possible to avoid Botryosphaeria infections. Winter pruning resulted in infection in 78 to 99 percent … Continue reading
Given this spring’s prolonged leaf-out window, it is likely that there will also be a wide window in the timing of hull split and a need for two shakes in some varieties. Ethephon is a commonly used tool for advancing hull split and harvest-readiness in walnuts. Remember that there are two potential timings of ethephon, based on different goals. Continue reading
Since mid-April, many advisors up and down the Valley have been receiving calls about unusual leaf-out in pistachio and walnut. The Sacramento Valley has certainly been experiencing this, too. Continue reading
Excessive boron in soil or irrigation water is not widespread in the Central Valley, but where present, it can be a substantial obstacle to almond production. A rootstock trial in Yolo County was designed to find which almond rootstocks do better or worse under high boron conditions. What follows is a summary of findings to date. What follows is a summary of findings to date. Continue reading
Irrigation Evapotranspiration (ET) Report for the Woodland, Davis, Dixon, and Verona CIMIS stations. Continue reading
Adequate potassium is critical to sustained yields in an almond orchard. There are many approaches to providing almond trees with the potassium they need, depending on your local climate conditions, orchard infrastructure and budget. Continue reading
There are plenty of benefits that can come from cover cropping in an almond orchard, including improved orchard access, improved water infiltration, encouraging native pollinizers and improved honeybee health. But all the options of species to plant can be overwhelming. Herein we’ll review how to pick a cover crop seed blend for a particular orchard. Continue reading
Irrigation Evapotranspiration (ET) Report for the Woodland, Davis, Dixon, and Verona CIMIS stations. Continue reading
KATHERINE JARVIS-SHEAN & BRAD HANSON Weeds in young orchards compete with trees for orchard resources – sunlight, water and nutrients, setting back growth and yield. Weeds can also create cover for vertebrate pests which can then damage tree trunks (Figure … Continue reading
Irrigation Evapotranspiration (ET) Report for Tehama, Butte and Colusa county CIMIS stations. Continue reading