Your source for orchard news & information in the Sacramento Valley
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
California prune growers generally had good bloom in 2019 and bloom weather was also good. This should see an increase in cropload for many blocks for 2019, meaning that chances are higher for growing smaller fruit. Growers and PCAs are invited to attend a field day to demo cropload checking in Live Oak on Wednesday, May 8. Continue reading
This week, I received several phone calls and photos from growers and PCAs in the area inquiring about large caterpillars being observed on weeds in their almond and walnut orchards. Is it going to eat your orchard? Continue reading
Storms throughout the winter and into early spring, have resulted in localized flooding in the Sacramento Valley and left standing water or shallow perched water table in many orchards in the region. This update shows the extent of above-average rainfall in different parts of the Sacramento Valley in January through March. 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
Brown rot blossom/twig blight is the most important blossom disease of prune in California. Warm and wet bloom periods make for high pressure disease years – keep reading to ensure the program you are using adequately protects your orchard. 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
Allan Fulton, UCCE Water Resources Advisor, Tehama, Shasta, Glenn and Colusa Counties; and Luke Milliron, UCCE Orchards Advisor, Butte, Tehama and Glenn Counties. Advanced guidelines for prune are provided in Table 1 (below). These guidelines consider the actual orchard measurements … Continue reading
Allan Fulton, UCCE Water Resources Advisor, Tehama, Shasta, Glenn and Colusa Counties; and Luke Milliron, UCCE Orchards Advisor, Butte, Tehama and Glenn Counties. Advanced guidelines for almond are provided in Table 1 (below). These guidelines consider the actual orchard measurements … Continue reading
Depending upon weather conditions, pathogen population and walnut variety, walnut blight caused by the bacterium Xanthomonas arboricola pv. juglandis (Xaj) can cause significant crop loss. Blight damage in later leafing varieties largely depends on how high the overwintering population of inoculum built up on bud scales. Initial inoculum in dormant buds can be used to predict subsequent disease severity. 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