Your source for orchard news & information in the Sacramento Valley
This tutorial introduces the challenges that soils with variable water holding capacity and uncertainty about effective root zones of crops poses to on-farm water management. We consider how these weekly reports of crop ET can be related to site specific … Continue reading
Because the percentage of ant damage is related to how long the nuts remain on the orchard floor, planning for ant management this season is vital. The size of this year’s crop will likely translate into longer periods of almonds sitting on the orchard floor waiting for pick up – especially for growers that depend on contract harvesters. Continue reading
Infections by Rhizopus stolonifera and Aspergillus niger occur after hull split because these are wound pathogens that require an opening to enter and infect the hull. The best, current approach to managing Rhizopus hull rot management includes three parts. The first two steps help to manage the environment, with respect to the disease triangle, while the latter seeks to control the pathogen. 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
From the northern San Joaquin Valley to the northern Sacramento Valley, walnut growers are reporting a widespread and alarming issue of walnut trees not leafing out this spring. The initial hypothesis from researchers is that we are seeing frost damage from mid-November, however the symptoms on mature blocks are both more unusual and more severe than autumn freeze events in recent memory. Continue reading
The Northern Region of the California Department of Water Resources and the University of California Cooperative Extension in Tehama and Glenn counties have teamed up to provide Weekly ET Reports to agricultural water users. Reports include water use information for a variety of crops. This article outlines background information about the reports and ways to use them in on-farm water management. Continue reading
Tuesday, March 26th, 2019 – Chico, CA 8:30 am to 12:30 pm Location: Chico State University Farm Requesting 3.5 CCA Continuing Education Units 2 CURES Continuing Education Units RSVP to http://ucanr.edu/survey/survey.cfm?surveynumber=26918 Agenda 8:30-9:00-Registration and coffee/treats Group Talks: 9:00-9:30 am- Welcome! … Continue reading
Janine Hasey, UCCE Farm Advisor, Sutter/Yuba/Colusa Counties, Greg Browne, USDA Plant Pathologist, UC Davis, Astrid Volder, Plant Sciences, UC Davis and Bruce Lampinen, UCCE Walnut Specialist, UC Davis 2017 brought unprecedented high and fluctuating water flows in the Sacramento and Feather Rivers, damaging … Continue reading
In uncertain times, put your money on proven practices and materials. Certain postharvest fertilizer inputs (boron, potassium, and zinc) when needed, are proven to deliver increased yield. At least one nutrient, nitrogen, when fall applied does not deliver yield benefit … Continue reading
Visual cues of crop stress are among the most basic observations that can be used to manage irrigation in orchard crops. However, these cues can be somewhat subjective and are often expressed after plant stress is higher than desired. Measuring midday stem water potential (SWP) using a pressure chamber is a quantitative method for evaluating plant water status. 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
2017 brought us unprecedented high and fluctuating water flows in the Sacramento and Feather Rivers, damaging orchards from direct flooding and indirectly via under-levee seepage. Many trees had a long exposure to waterlogged conditions through the winter and spring. This article discusses strategies for minimizing losses in 2018 in flood-impacted orchards. Continue reading
Droughty winters prompt questions about winter irrigation in orchards. The questions seem simple: Should I irrigate this winter? If so, when should I irrigate? How much water should I apply? The answers to these questions aren’t quite so simple. Continue reading
Trends in cumulative spring groundwater change by county are shown for a shallow well monitoring network and an intermediate well monitoring network across five northern Sacramento Valley counties. The period of interest includes the spring of 2011 which was a wet water year, 2012 through 2016 which were a series of dry or critically dry water years, followed by 2017 which has been a record-setting wet year. Continue reading
A wet winter is when having an orchard planted on a deep, well-drained soil, or planting on berms, islands, or mounds can pay off. Some orchards on soils that are not well-drained or have been flooded can face difficulties when … Continue reading