Spring conditions over the past week have finally turned favorable for growth. After a very warm winter, a long bloom with periods of cold weather, followed by a few weeks of wet weather, trees are starting to grow and nuts are beginning to size. These weather conditions have led to a few interesting observations and considerations for the spring. Leaf lesions caused by bacteria. Observations from several fields have yielded the occurrence of bacterial leaf spots. These spots are thought to be caused by Pseudomonas syringae, the same bacteria that causes blossom blast. Lesions are often varied in shape and have a distinctive yellow halo. Generally, the tree recovers after shedding a few leaves. Conditions can worsen if rains persist. Copper treatments to prevent may do more harm than good due to tree sensitivity. Lesions can be easily confused with herbicide drift or shot-hole; review application history to determine if these could be potential causes. Vegetative bud failure. Just as we observed in 2015, we have been observing vegetative buds within last year’s growth failing to push. This “bud failure” is not the same as non-infectious bud failure (crazy top) as future generations of buds will be healthy. Although we are unsure of exactly why this type of bud failure occurs, we believe it to be due to a reduction of localized carbohydrates from the December and January temperature ranges. Explained simply, warm winter days and nights below freezing increase the rate of respiration, leading to reduced carbohydrates to assist with bud break. If levels drop too low, buds can die. Often, healthy buds below the affected area will grow and hide the damage that occurred. Sometimes, buds will break later than normal. More rain. Mid-range forecasts are predicting rain for the end of the first week of April. These