Healthier Orchards with A Careful Start of Irrigation in 2023
A careful approach to irrigation in 2023 is one way to both save money and help ensure you have a healthy and productive orchard. Continue reading
Author Archives: Luke Milliron
Example 1 and 2 – Healthier Orchards with A Careful Start of Irrigation
More details on the examples in “Healthier Orchards with A Careful Start of Irrigation in 2023.” Continue reading
Six Steps to Prepare for the Next Sudden Autumn Freeze
In the Sacramento Valley, an autumn freeze has damaged walnut orchards every November for the last four years. Read this article for tips on freeze protection in your walnut orchard. Continue reading
Five Practices to Help Prevent Bacterial Canker
Every year is a Cytospora canker year, and unfortunately, some years are also bacterial canker years. This spring farm advisors observed bacterial canker infections, read below for prevention practices. Continue reading
2022 Walnut Blight Management Update
For any pest or disease like walnut blight that requires pesticide application to keep in check, there are four key pillars to successful management: timing, material, rate, and coverage. Read more for the latest updates for managing walnut blight in 2022. Continue reading
Protecting Young Almond Trunks with Cartons
It can be difficult to know when to replace or remove tree cartons. Being too early (photo 1) or late (photo 2) with carton removal has been the source of numerous farm advisor calls over the years. Continue reading
2022 Emergency Use (Section 18) Approved for Almond Bacterial Blast Material
Bacterial blast (Pseudomonas syringe), although thankfully not a problem every year (hopefully including 2022), can be tremendously damaging to almond yields. For example, significant crop damage was reported in the Sacramento Valley in 2017 and 2018, and in the San Joaquin Valley in 2017 and 2019. These grower reports of past crop loss supported a Section 18 emergency request for the use of kasugamycin on almonds during bloom. Continue reading
Long Pruning for Greater Early Yields with Video
The higher the yield per acre early in the life of an orchard, the sooner the orchard covers development costs and returns a net profit to the grower. With new, well-anchored prune rootstocks now in the market, especially Krymsk 86 and Viking, it is worth reviewing young orchard pruning trial data. Continue reading
Three Steps to Combat Cytospora Canker
Cankers caused by fungi of Cytospora spp. can severely limit prune production; reducing grower income and potentially leading to early orchard removal due to scaffold and/or tree loss. This article provides information about how to control Cytospora in your orchard. Continue reading
November Walnut Orchard Management Considerations
Read this article for walnut orchard management tasks to keep in mind in November. Continue reading
Maintaining Quality with Pick Up & Stockpiling Best Practices
With another record statewide crop to be shaken, swept, and collected starting in August, will you and your handler be prepared? Research by Bruce Lampinen (UCCE Specialist, UC Davis) and others has shown that properly dried nuts are the key to maintaining quality and grower returns during stockpiling. Continue reading
For a Healthy Orchard Next Spring, Follow Through on Late Season Irrigation in Your Prune Orchard
For the best returns and orchard health, ease up on irrigation before harvest, and after harvest keep up with irrigation until leaf drop. Continue reading
2020 Walnut Freeze: Road to Recovery
2020 brought yet another major autumn freeze. This article contains information about why the damage was so severe and what to do about it now. Continue reading
May Almond Orchard Management Considerations
Read this article for almond orchard management tasks to keep in mind in May. Continue reading
Pre- and Post-Harvest Irrigation Management in Prune
Read this article to learn more about irrigation management for prune orchards using crop developmental stages and stem water potential measurements. Continue reading