Your source for orchard news & information in the Sacramento Valley
This tracker compares maximum hours of irrigation that may be needed during a week to actual hours applied. This tracker is limited to weekly use. It is not capable of tracking total irrigation for the season. Enter your orchard specific … Continue reading
This tracker compares maximum hours of irrigation that may be needed during a week to actual hours applied. This tracker is limited to weekly use. It is not capable of tracking total irrigation for the season. Enter your orchard specific … Continue reading
This calculator converts the weekly crop ET estimates reported as inches per acre to gallons per tree. Enter your orchard specific information into the yellow boxes and the results will display under the ‘Calculation Results’ heading below. See our FAQs … Continue reading
This calculator estimates the maximum weekly hours of irrigation need based upon weekly estimates of crop ET and the hourly water application rate of your system. The maximum weekly hours of irrigation may not be needed because in-season rainfall or soil … Continue reading
This calculator computes the hourly water application rate of higher flow minisprinklers and solid set sprinklers. Use this calculator if sprinkler nozzles are rated in gallons per minute (GPM). Enter your orchard specific information into the yellow boxes and the … Continue reading
This calculator computes the hourly water application rate of lower flow drip or microsprinkler irrigation systems. Use this calculator if the drippers or microsprinklers are rated in gallons per hour (GPH). Enter your orchard specific information into the yellow boxes … Continue reading
Q1: Why are weekly crop ET rates reported as inches per week instead of gallons per tree per week or per day when drip emitters, microsprinklers, and minisprinklers are rated in gallons per hour or gallons per minute? We recognize … Continue reading
I am retiring on July 1st after nearly 38 years working for UC Cooperative Extension and over 36 years as an Orchard and Environmental Horticulture (EH) Advisor in Sutter-Yuba Counties. What an honor to work with all of you growers, PCAs, and others in the Ag industry, and such a privilege to collaborate with so many talented UC colleagues solving challenging problems together. Continue reading
During about the second or third week in June, many Howard walnut trees experienced nut drop of perhaps as many as 100 nuts per tree, with many trees losing no more than 60 nuts per tree. These nuts were full size with the shell beginning to harden. Cutting open an immediately dropped nut, you could see darkening of the inside watery kernel material. Several possible causes are explored in this article. Continue reading
Originally posted July 2018; Updated July 2019. Franz Niederholzer, UCCE Farm Advisor, Colusa and Sutter/Yuba Counties & Allan Fulton, UCCE Water Resources Advisor, Tehama, Glenn and Colusa Counties Hull rot can be a heartbreaker, appearing suddenly at harvest in orchards where … Continue reading
There are several biological factors and non-biological conditions that cause “gumming” in almonds. “Gummy nuts” may refer to different symptoms depending on which part of the fruit is affected. In this article, the term “hull gummosis” refers to the exudates … Continue reading
Drew Wolter, Junior Specialist Horticulture Intern, UCCE Sutter-Yuba Counties; and Brad Hanson, Weed Science Specialist, UC Davis Threespike goosegrass was first reported in California in 1967. Since then, this species has become a significant concern in almonds and other orchard … 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
Early hull split, when the hull begins to open at the suture, is a don’t-want-to-miss timing in almond production. The crack in the hull does two things: releases nut volatiles so the navel orangeworm (NOW) female can find the nut … Continue reading
Luke Milliron, UCCE Farm Advisor, Butte, Tehama, and Glenn Counties; Franz Niederholzer, UCCE Farm Advisor, Colusa, and Sutter-Yuba Counties; Dani Lightle, UCCE Farm Advisor, Glenn, Butte, and Tehama Counties; Katherine Jarvis-Shean, UCCE Farm Advisor, Yolo, Solano, and Sacramento Counties Increased … Continue reading