Taking a harvest sample is simple, but time consuming. Never-the-less, it should be done because damage is hidden by the handling that occurs during sweeping, pickup, and processing. In some cases, we have found 4% more damage in harvest samples than what was indicated in the grower’s processor report.  In other words, when we found an estimated 5% damage/reject level in the harvest sample, the processor indicated a 1% rejection level. The 4% discrepency is most likely due to damaged nuts lost during the steps of harvest. Another reason for performing a harvest sample is to account for the damage that does occur in the field. Often times processors lump all worm damage together, not separating out NOW, PTB, OFM, or other worms. Ant damage often does not show up because the chewed out pellicles are blown out the back of the pick-up machine. Gummy nuts due to deficiencies, feeding, or other conditions are all lumped together. Collecting a harvest sample is easy. In each block of concern, collect 500 nuts from the ground after shaking but before pickup and place them in a paper bag. Two samples of 250, or 4 samples of 125 nuts from differing areas of the block can also be collected, but try to keep the total number of nuts per block at 500. Store the bags in a freezer until they can be cracked out. Once able to crack out the almonds, check for signs of pests and disease. Pictures of damaged nuts can seen in a previous post or at the UC IPM website. A hand-sheller can be helpful in processing many samples. It can take 60-90 minutes for each sample depending on size. 500 nuts split into 4 125 nut samples should suffice for a 40 acre block. So, is a harvest