Growing the Valley

In our 1-minute challenges Luke and Phoebe describe key almond, pistachio, prune, and walnut orchard tasks for the month of February!

Upcoming meeting dates:

Feb 7: 2022 Quad-County Walnut Day

Feb 8: 2022 North San Joaquin Valley Almond Day

Feb 22-23: UCCE Virtual Statewide Walnut Series

Feb 24: Northern Sac Valley Prune Day (Register by Feb 15)

Mar 1: Southern Sac Valley Prune Day

Mar 3: North Sac Valley Walnut Day (Register by Feb 15)

Mar 7-11: 2022 Principles Of Fruit And Nut Tree Growth, Cropping and Management (Register by Mar 6)

Ask your trees when they need water – invest in a pressure chamber

Useful February Walnut Links:

Counting Winter Chill

Nursery Products and Early Tree Training

The No Heading Tree Training Method  

Delayed Dormant Pest Management Cost-Saving Strategies

Useful February Prune Links:

Preventing Cytospora Cankers in Prune

Long-pruning in prunes for early yields

Thank you to the Almond, Pistachio, Prune, and Walnut Boards of California for their kind donations. Thank you to Muriel Gordon for the music.

The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed are the speaker’s own and do not represent the views, thoughts, and opinions of the University of California. The material and information presented here is for general information purposes only.  The "University of California" name and all forms and abbreviations are the property of its owner and its use does not imply endorsement of or opposition to any specific organization, product, or service.

Follow us on Twitter! @SacOrchards and @SJVtandv

Dr. Helen Dahlke (UC Davis Department of Land, Air and Water Resources) discusses the principles of groundwater recharge in California, where and in which crops it can occur, and its effects on overall water quality.

Link: Soil Agricultural Groundwater Banking Index mapping tool.

Thank you to the Almond, Pistachio, Prune, and Walnut Boards of California for their kind donations. Thank you to Muriel Gordon for the music.

The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed are the speaker’s own and do not represent the views, thoughts, and opinions of the University of California. The material and information presented here is for general information purposes only.  The "University of California" name and all forms and abbreviations are the property of its owner and its use does not imply endorsement of or opposition to any specific organization, product, or service.

Follow us on Twitter! @SacOrchards and @SJVtandv

Dr. Samuel Sandoval (UCCE Specialist in Water Management and UC Davis Land, Air & Water Resources) discusses five factors that influence water availability throughout a year and his outlook for the 2022 water year.

Be sure to also listen to the podcast episode with Daniel Sawain (UCLA Climatologist) for more on California’s water future.

Thank you to the Almond, Pistachio, Prune, and Walnut Boards of California for their kind donations. Thank you to Muriel Gordon for the music.

The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed are the speaker’s own and do not represent the views, thoughts, and opinions of the University of California. The material and information presented here is for general information purposes only.  The "University of California" name and all forms and abbreviations are the property of its owner and its use does not imply endorsement of or opposition to any specific organization, product, or service.

Follow us on Twitter! @SacOrchards and @SJVtandv

Dr. Ted DeJong (UC Davis Plant Sciences and UC ANR Cooperative Extension emeritus) provides a vision for the future of prune orchards, discussing how light interception, tree physiology, and fruit development impact orchard management.

Thank you to the Almond, Pistachio, Prune, and Walnut Boards of California for their kind donations. Thank you to Muriel Gordon for the music.

The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed are the speaker’s own and do not represent the views, thoughts, and opinions of the University of California. The material and information presented here is for general information purposes only.  The "University of California" name and all forms and abbreviations are the property of its owner and its use does not imply endorsement of or opposition to any specific organization, product, or service.

Follow us on Twitter! @SacOrchards and @SJVtandv

In our 1-minute challenges Luke and Phoebe describe key almond, pistachio, prune, and walnut orchard tasks for the month of January!

Mention of pesticide use does not constitute a pesticide recommendation, merely the sharing of research findings. Always follow the pesticide label. The label is law. Find out more at ipm.ucanr.edu.

Thank you to the Almond, Pistachio, Prune, and Walnut Boards of California for their kind donations. Thank you to Muriel Gordon for the music.

The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed are the speaker’s own and do not represent the views, thoughts, and opinions of the University of California. The material and information presented here is for general information purposes only.  The "University of California" name and all forms and abbreviations are the property of its owner and its use does not imply endorsement of or opposition to any specific organization, product, or service.

 Follow us on Twitter! @SacOrchards and @SJVtandv

In this encore episode: Luke and Phoebe sit down with Joe Connell, farm advisor emeritus for Butte County. Joe goes over the differences between advection and radiation frosts, ways to protect your orchard from frost protection, and the best irrigation systems for protecting against frosts. While we usually worry about frosts during bloom, early frosts can also damage orchards, particularly in the northern part of the state and in the foothills.

With uncertainty regarding COVID – the January 5 North Valley Nut Conference in Orland, California is being rescheduled to June and the California Walnut Conference on January 13 to 14 in Yuba City, California is being rescheduled to April. Dates will be up early in the new year on wcngg.com/upcoming-events.

On November 19 and 20 – UC’s Statewide Pistachio Day is being held online. Register at: ucanr.edu/sites/pistachioday.

On February 1 and 2 – CAPCA Spring Summit in Napa, CA – Luke will be speaking during the event on the latest best practices for combating fungal cankers in almonds and prunes. More information at: capca.com/spring-summit.

On February 3 we are currently still hoping to hold UC’s Tehama Prune Day in-person in Red Bluff, CA. Details at: cetehama.ucanr.edu.

Thank you to the Almond, Pistachio, Prune, and W

In the final installment of the rootstock series, farm advisors Franz Niederholzer and Luke Milliron talk about considerations for selecting a rootstock for prune production, particularly the exciting advantages with Krymsk 86 and Viking.

Thank you to the Almond, Pistachio, Prune, and Walnut Boards of California for their kind donations. Thank you to Muriel Gordon for the music.

The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed are the speaker’s own and do not represent the views, thoughts, and opinions of the University of California. The material and information presented here is for general information purposes only.  The "University of California" name and all forms and abbreviations are the property of its owner and its use does not imply endorsement of or opposition to any specific organization, product, or service.

 Follow us on Twitter! @SacOrchards and @SJVtandv

UCCE Advisor Dr. Elizabeth Fichtner (Tulare and Kings Counties) discusses the history of pistachio rootstock development and the benefits of the rootstock options available today.

Thank you to the Almond, Pistachio, Prune, and Walnut Boards of California for their kind donations. Thank you to Muriel Gordon for the music.

The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed are the speaker’s own and do not represent the views, thoughts, and opinions of the University of California. The material and information presented here is for general information purposes only. The "University of California" name and all forms and abbreviations are the property of its owner and its use does not imply endorsement of or opposition to any specific organization, product, or service.

Follow us on twitter! @SacOrchards and @SJVtandv

Brittney Goodrich joins Growing the Valley again to discuss the bee outlook for the 2022 almond pollination season.

Thank you to the Almond, Pistachio, Prune, and Walnut Boards of California for their kind donations. Thank you to Muriel Gordon for the music.

The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed are the speaker’s own and do not represent the views, thoughts, and opinions of the University of California. The material and information presented here is for general information purposes only. The "University of California" name and all forms and abbreviations are the property of its owner and its use does not imply endorsement of or opposition to any specific organization, product, or service.

Figs, like many other fresh fruit, suffer from postharvest loss due to fungal pathogens and shrivel. Leili Afsah Hejri, a scientist working in food safety, has been examining the use of ozone as a post-harvest treatment for sanitation as well as improving fruit quality. In this episode, she discusses the results of a recently published trial with Phoebe.

Thank you to the Almond, Pistachio, Prune, and Walnut Boards of California for their kind donations. Thank you to Muriel Gordon for the music.

The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed are the speaker’s own and do not represent the views, thoughts, and opinions of the University of California. The material and information presented here is for general information purposes only. The "University of California" name and all forms and abbreviations are the property of its owner and its use does not imply endorsement of or opposition to any specific organization, product, or service.