Franz Niederholzer, Orchards Systems Advisor, Colusa and Sutter/Yuba Counties
Sudan Gyawaly, UC IPM Advisor, Sacramento Valley

The most recent Position Report released by the Almond Board of California shows a 0.55% drop in total rejects from 2025 (2.25%) to 2026 (1.70%) for the month of August in the Sacramento Valley.

The August report is the first for the new crop year and Nonpareil and Independence deliveries make up most (>95%) of August receipts in 2025 and 2026. Nonpareil receipts were 75-80% of the reported August volume for both years.

Current reject trends differ by variety. Early receipts in the Sacramento Valley show a marked improvement in Nonpareil quality from last year, and an upward trend in Independence rejects. August, 2025 Nonpareil rejects were 2.4%, dropping to 1.6% this (2026) year. In comparison, Independence rejects rose from 1.7% in August, 2025 to 2.2% for the same period in 2026.

It is very early to draw solid conclusions regarding crop quality for the entire season, but some possible explanation(s) for the August data are emerging from trap counts and conversations with growers and PCAs.

• Navel orangeworm pressure appears generally lower this year than 2025. It’s hard to tell exactly what contributed to this situation, but strong contributors include excellent sanitation weather early last winter, lack of sustained heat through the summer, and active pest management (mating disruption, multiple hull split sprays) as nut prices continued to climb .
• Reports of significant “brown spot” damage in the Sacramento Valley, particularly in Independence. In this region, brown spot is thought to be largely due to leaffooted bug (LFB) feeding. LFB numbers probably increased this spring following a warm winter and very warm March which encouraged early dispersal of adults from their overwintering sites.
• Kernal gumming, often on the nut tip, of large nuts, possibly due to rapid nut growth in the warm weather of late February and all of March.

What are our initial impressions from these early quality reports?

• Keep a strong focus on NOW management. Sanitize carefully, use mating disruption, spray carefully, and harvest mature nuts as soon as prudent. Are trap counts decreasing in areas where mating disruption is used?
• Keep up monitoring LFB, spray carefully, and work with your neighbors to reduce overwintering food sources for LFB near orchards, such as old pomegranate fruit.
• The cause(s) of kernel gumming (and what to do about it) will be a topic of discussion all winter. At least a part of the problem in some orchards may be low boron (B) levels. If B is low, this can be corrected with proper rates and timing of B fertilizers. Consult with your CCA regarding a B program right for your orchard if harvest hull levels are low (<80 ppm) to moderate/adequate (100–150 ppm).

It’s a challenge to balance sufficient B for the crop without overdoing it – excess B can harm yield. Yet B losses from an orchard can be significant. Boron can be leached from soils with winter rains and crop B use. A 1000 lb of kernel crop removes the equivalent of 1 lb of 20% B fertilizer (Solubor^●, etc.) when hull B is at 100 ppm B (most of the B in almonds is in the hull). Now is the time to plan a B program for the 2027 almond crop.