Your source for orchard news & information in the Sacramento Valley
I was called out in mid-July by a PCA to evaluate a single sick walnut tree. The tree was said to have unusual symptoms and be surrounded by completely healthy trees. Indeed, the tree was surrounded by healthy, uniform trees, while the single tree in question had multiple scaffolds with patches of dead leaves. Continue reading
Two rootstock experiments in grower orchards were planted in Northern California in 2011. One site in Butte County and a second in Yuba County. The two sites are evaluating the performance of Improved French on 14 rootstocks planted in replicated randomized trials. We previously reported in this newsletter on the results from this trial in 2015 and 2017 issues. Here, updated results are given. Continue reading
In 2018 Dani Lightle reported leafing failures in Monterey following several calls she investigated. In 2020, UC advisors, specialists, and professors are again receiving calls reporting leaf out issues in several almond varieties, but most notably in Monterey. Continue reading
A key role of roots is the uptake of water and nutrients. Roots do not function well when exposed to too much water and will stop growing and eventually die in stagnant and/or saturated soil conditions. We consider how a better understanding of root biology can inform best irrigation practices. Continue reading
After a long and bumpy ride, Kasumin 2L has received final EPA approval and will be available for walnut blight control in 2018. Here are some do’s and don’ts for using Kasumin 2L during the blight management season. Continue reading
Bacterial blast, although thankfully not a problem every year (hopefully including 2020), can be tremendously damaging to almond yields. Because Sacramento Valley almond growers were significantly impacted by bacterial blast in two of the last three years, crop loss data from Sacramento Valley counties supported a Section 18 emergency request for the use of Kasugamycin on almonds. Continue reading
Since mid-January the lack of rainfall has come to the forefront of our minds, and we have an updated precipitation picture as of late February 2020. Continue reading
Seeing young walnut trees tied so tightly to a stake that they appear glued is not an unusual site. However, tying a young tree tightly to the stake can cause multiple problems. Continue reading
It is important to consider irrigation of perennial tree crops leading up to dormancy to foster carbohydrate storage in the trees and to guard against the occurrence of freezing temperatures in dry orchards putting them at more risk to cold injury. Continue reading
Survival is the number one priority of a new orchard planting. Bacterial canker plagues many young prune orchards and rootstock selection can make a major impact on bacterial canker susceptibility. Learn which rootstocks have 100% survival in a UC prune rootstock trial at a high bacterial canker pressure site. Continue reading
You’re certainly familiar with the differences in almond hull split and subsequent harvest timing between different varieties. A typical case of this can be observed with early splitting and harvest of Nonpareil relative to other later varieties. However, you may not often think about differences in hull split influenced by rootstock. Continue reading
A single yellowing walnut tree in an otherwise healthy orchard has been a frequent sighting when driving along the roadways of the Sacramento Valley this summer. These yellowing trees have also been common this summer. The most likely cause of this yellowing and tree collapse was waterlogging induced root death. 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
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
In prunes, some years are bacterial canker years, while every year is a Cytospora year. Going into this year, we knew the wet/cold conditions could mean that we were headed into a bacterial canker year. However, diagnosing the dieback we are seeing this spring has brought some surprises. Continue reading