Lu Zhang provides an update on work published last year on the effect of dust on pistachio pollen, flowers, nut set, and blanking (it’s not good!). Please note that there are other physiological causes of blanking, such as incomplete pollination or aborted kernel development, and that we have not determined how much dust could contribute to blanking in the field. Also, the episode was recorded before the heavy rains in March in the southern San Joaquin Valley, so high dust conditions may not occur this year.

The American Society for Horticultural Science dropped its paywall, so you can read the article yourself at https://journals.ashs.org/hortsci/view/journals/hortsci/54/11/article-p1967.xml.

Thank you to the Almond Board of California, the California Pistachio Research Board, the California Prune Board, and the California Walnut Board for their support. Music is by Muriel Gordon.