Luke Milliron, UCCE Butte, Glenn, Tehama Counties
Jaime Ott, UCCE Tehama, Shasta, Glenn, and Butte Counties
Becky Wheeler-Dykes, UCCE Glen, Tehama, and Colusa Counties
Franz Niederholzer, UCCE Farm Advisor, Colusa and Sutter/Yuba Counties

Postharvest nutrition Use information from your July leaf samples and harvest hull samples, along with 2025 yield, to plan potential fall Boron, Zinc, and Potassium applications. You can also learn more in the Fall Zinc and Boron Review in this newsletter. These fall applications, boron in particular, can have an outsized impact on next year’s yield. Boron: A fall maintenance boron spray can increase yield by hundreds of kernel pounds per acre when hull boron analysis is less than 150 ppm. Zinc: A fall spray is the most effective way to provide this nutrient for good shoot growth next spring. Use a high rate (20+ lbs zinc sulfate per acre) in November, or a lower rate (5 lbs/acre) in October. Potassium (K) can be effectively applied in-season or in the fall: for a fall application, potassium should be banded or concentrated in micro-irrigation zones. Nitrogen (N) applied in the fall, provides the least benefit of the three, and can be reduced or skipped if July nitrogen levels are 2.4% or higher. As an example, given a 2.4% result, the Nickels Soil Lab will still add 10 lbs low biuret nitrogen per acre to their fall foliar spray along with boron and zinc, to “top off the tank”. (This is an example, NOT a fertilizer recommendation)  

Cover crops have numerous benefits including improving water infiltration and soil water holding capacity, providing additional forage for bees in the spring, and providing easier access to the field when the soil is wet. Plant by the end of October and ensure good germination of your cover crop by monitoring soil moisture and irrigating (if using sprinklers) after planting in a dry fall. If cover cropping is not in the cards for you this year, maintaining resident vegetation in the row-middles is free and provides many of the same benefits. Spreading shell is another low-cost approach for improving water infiltration.  

Weed survey After the first rain, scout for weeds and develop your weed management strategy for next year. Correct weed identification is critical for effective management plans, so utilize the Weed Research and Information Center Weed ID Tool or email the Almond Board’s Field Outreach Team requesting a weed ID booklet.  

Winter sanitation Select Sacramento Valley orchards were infested with high navel orangeworm (NOW) levels in 2025. The number one way to get a NOW problem under control or continue an orchard’s winning streak against the pest is through sanitation.  The historic Sacramento Valley practice has been to count the mummies in 20 trees throughout each orchard. If more than 2 mummy nuts are found per tree, sanitize by shaking or poling nuts to the ground by Feb. 1. If NOW hit you hard in 2025 consider the stricter central/southern San Joaquin Valley standard of no more than 1 mummy/ 5 trees (and no more than 4 intact mummies on ground). Also note if mummy nuts are caused by hull rot, which may indicate a need to reevaluate your irrigation and nitrogen management, and potentially consider a hull rot spray in 2026. 

Dormant spur sampling for scale and mite eggs, while also examining green shoots for scab lesions will inform if a dormant spray(s) is a critical investment this winter.  

Honeybee planning Get your order in for 2-3 strong (8 frame/hive) honeybee hives per acre for February pollination. Self-fertile varieties should have 0.5-1 hive per acre.  

Process harvest samples November is a great time to pull those harvest samples out of the freezer and evaluate them to identify specific pest damage. Grade sheets do not distinguish between different types of insect damage, so harvest samples are an important tool as you calibrate your 2026 pest management program. 

Review Schedule the time to review practices, inputs, and results (grade sheets, leaf/hull samples, etc.) orchard by orchard and variety by variety with your management team to plan/budget for the 2026 season.  

The Almond Conference (TAC) Say hi to Sacramento Valley UCCE advisors and check out new UC research at the poster session. TAC is Wednesday through Friday December 10-12 in Sacramento.