Katherine Pope4 CommentsNovember 8, 2014Horticulture

Is Last Year’s Warm Winter the New Normal?

Katherine Pope, UCCE Farm Advisor Sacramento, Solano and Yolo Counties Part 1 of 3 in the series – What can we learn from the low chill winter of 2013-2014 With harvest wrapped up, it’s a good time to take stock of the impacts of the warm winter of 2013-2014. Average chill was down 25% in the Central Valley, falling behind in January and never catching up. Orchards in many crops showed classic symptoms of low chill – delayed and extended bloom, poor pollinizer overlap and weak leaf-out. Prolonged bloom likely resulted in some cherries, pistachios and prunes experiencing warmer bloom temperatures, which decreased yields for many. Drought-related water stress likely contributed to some of the yield, size and quality issues we saw at harvest. But low chill was almost certainly responsible for a great deal of the unusual tree behavior, low yields and poor quality. So what can we learn from this tough year moving forward?

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Franz Niederholzer0 commentsAugust 10, 2014Horticulture

Odd weather at harvest, so far

Written by Franz Niederholzer, UCCE Farm Advisor, Colusa/Sutter/Yuba Counties So far, the weather in the Sacramento Valley has been unusually moist early in the 2014 harvest season.  Higher humidity and rain last week (Aug 4-5 = 0.1-0.6”) slowed nut drying just as the season began.  A chance of thundershowers is forecast for the coming week (Aug 11-15), so we won’t spring right back to the usual August weather – hot and dry.  Growers anxious to get nuts up and out of the orchard will have to wait longer than expected to deliver a dry, quality crop.  Wet nuts are more vulnerable to damage (chipped, broken and embedded shell), which can reduce return to grower.

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Joe Connell0 commentsJuly 4, 2014Horticulture, Nutrient, Salinity

Leaf analysis and salinity monitoring

Written by Joe Connell, Butte County Farm Advisor Leaf analysis for the full range of nutrients is best done in July when nutrient levels in leaf tissue are stabilized. Published July critical values established for almond by U.C. researchers can help guide you in your fertilization practice.  Analysis can reveal specific nutrient deficiencies or can alert you to developing trends when results are compared from one year to another.  Keeping trees in the adequate zone for nitrogen can save on fertilizer costs by helping to avoid over fertilization. 

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David Doll5 CommentsJune 7, 2014Horticulture, Irrigation

Water Stress, Early Hullsplit, and Kernel Size

I have been getting a few reports of hull-split in almonds from varying points across the state. We were expecting an earlier than normal hull-split, but many would agree that this is earlier than expected. Much of the splitting trees are in the more stressed areas of the fields, or in orchards with reduced water allocations. Although I haven’t observed this until this season, early hullsplit induced by spring-time water stress has been described in the literature.

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David Doll5 CommentsMay 16, 2014Diseases, Horticulture

Lower Limb Dieback of Almond

Lower limb dieback (LLDB) has become an emerging problem within many almond orchards throughout California. Observations of orchards with LLDB occur independent of soil types, irrigation systems, and planting spacings, while typically affecting orchards that are in their 8th leaf or older. Symptoms are predominantly found on Padre and Butte, but are also found on many other varieties including Nonpareil, Fritz, Carmel, Wood Colony, and Mission.

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David Doll11 CommentsApril 26, 2014Horticulture, Insects

Almond Gumming – Insect Damage?

I have noticed gumming coming from the hulls of almonds in several orchards. The gumming is clear, and can come from multiple points on the nuts. I have also been seeing it more on ‘Nonpareil’ than ‘Monterey’ or ‘Fritz.’ Initially suspected to be leaffooted plant bug, I think these issues are caused by another insect or are physiological.

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David Doll2 CommentsApril 17, 2014Horticulture

Pros and Cons of Earlier, Warmer Spring

A few discussions this week around an “earlier” than normal year for insects and nut development. We are somewhere around 10-12 weeks post bloom in the Northern San Joaquin Valley. Nut developing is progressing as expected. We have experienced higher than normal temperatures during stage one of growth which may lead to sizing issues – especially in later blooming varieties (i.e. ‘Fritz’) – similar to what we saw in 2013. Endosperm development should begin or has begun in most ‘Nonpareil’ and pollinator orchards. I suspect that kernel fill will be earlier, leading to an earlier ripening/hull-split/harvest timing.

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Franz Niederholzer3 CommentsFebruary 7, 2014Diseases, Horticulture, Insects

Pollen, Bees, R.U.L.E.S., and Almond Bloom

Almond bloom has begun.  No time of the season is more important to delivering a good crop.  You don’t get a Mulligan at almond bloom.  Good pollinization, delivery of viable pollen grains to the flower stigma of a compatible flower, is the first step of a successful bloom season.  Keeping spray materials off the pollen helps keep the pollen viable for germination (the next step in a good crop) and healthy for bees—the key pollinators from Red Bluff to Bakersfield.

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David Doll4 CommentsJanuary 14, 2014Horticulture

Almond Dormant Oil Applications and Dry Conditions

There have been several questions over the past two weeks regarding applications of dormant oil onto almonds. Concerns of phyto-toxicity or oil burn have been raised over the dry weather, lack of rain, and lack of moisture within trees. Although the exact conditions that will favor oil burn in almonds is unknown, the following are a few considerations when making this decision.

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