We know pistachios, and we love to eat them. Despite pistachio ice cream being the objectively best way to consume this nut , the majority of pistachios are sold in-shell. Have you ever wondered how those shells split? In this episode, Phoebe sits down with Shuxiao (Susan) Zhang and Georgia Drakakaki, two of the authors of a recently published study on the mechanisms behind pistachio shell splitting. They discuss how the cells of a shell enable splitting, whether kernel size really does impact split percentage, and why Golden Hills has a higher split percentage than Kerman.

Come to an upcoming extension meeting!

In the Sacramento Valley:

North Sac Valley Groundwater and SGMA is on Tuesday, June 24

Save the date for Prune Research Tour Part 2 on Tuesday, July 15 

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

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

Johnsongrass can be a tough weed to control. Ryan Hill (UCCE Tehama, Shasta, Glenn) comes on the podcast to update us on the integrated year-round management of this perennial weed in orchards. UC ANR has great resources on distinguishing Johnsongrass and other young summer grass weeds. Johnsongrass identification photos can also be found on the podcast website. ANR also has a great guide to Johnsongrass biology and management.

Connect with a local UCCE weed expert! UC ANR has recently expanded their weed science team across the state. Ryan Hill (UCCE Tehama, Shasta, Glenn), and Clebson Goncalves (UCCE Lake and Mendocino) are based in the north state. In the northern San Joaquin there is Giuliano Galdi (UCCE Merced, Stanislaus, San Joaquin). In the central and southern San Joaquin there is Jorge Angeles (UCCE Tulare, Fresno, Kings), and Mandeep Riar (UCCE Kern, Tulare, and Kings). These advisors work in concert with statewide Cooperative Extension Specialist Brad Hanson.

Mention of a herbicide does not constitute a pesticide recommendation, merely the sharing of research results. Consult your PCA and read the pesticide label. The label is law.

Come to an upcoming extension meeting!

In the Sacramento Valley:

North Sac Valley Groundwater and SGMA is on Tuesday, June 24

Save the date for Prune Research Tour Part 2 on Tuesday, July 15 

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

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

Dr. Pat J. Brown (UC Davis) discusses exciting new clonal rootstocks being developed by a team of UC and USDA researchers. Pat is looking for growers to trial these new clones, in particular K3 an exciting new rootstock that has produced good growth, yield, and very low crown gall. You can contact Pat at [email protected]. Please also CC your local UCCE walnut farm advisor.

Come to an upcoming extension meeting!

In the Sacramento Valley:

North Sac Valley Groundwater and SGMA is on Tuesday, June 24

Save the date for Prune Research Tour Part 2 on Tuesday, July 15 

In the San Joquin Valley:

The Almond Board of California is hosting a Production Summit on Wednesday, June 18 where you can hear from researchers on advances in almond production research.

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

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

Three PhD entomologists with UC Cooperative Extension: Sudan Gyawaly, Jhalendra Rijal, and Houston Wilson discuss integrated management of the leaffooted and stink bug pest complexes in California nut crops. Be sure to first listen to part I where the three experts discuss phenology and monitoring of these pest complexes.

More information on controlling plant bugs in almonds and pistachios can be found on the UCIPM website; there are separate pages for stink bugs and leaffooted bugs, and in pistachio, small bugs.

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

Come to an upcoming extension meeting!

In the Sacramento Valley:

North Sac Valley Groundwater and SGMA is on Tuesday, June 24

Save the date for Prune Research Tour Part 2 on Tuesday, July 15  

In the San Joquin Valley:

The Almond Board of California is hosting a Production Summit on Wednesday, June 18 where you can hear from researchers on advances in almond production research.

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

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

Three PhD entomologists with UC Cooperative Extension: Sudan Gyawaly, Jhalendra Rijal, and Houston Wilson discuss the phenology and monitoring of the leaffooted and stink bug pest complexes in California nut crops. Including an exciting update from Houston Wilson (UC Riverside) on the trap and lure for leaffooted bug. Stay tuned for part two where the expert panel discusses the integrated management of these pests.

More information on controlling plant bugs in almonds and pistachios can be found on the UCIPM website; there are separate pages for stink bugs and leaffooted bugs, and in pistachio, small bugs.

Come to an upcoming extension meeting!

In the Sacramento Valley:

Almond Variety Trials: 2025 Field Meeting at CSU, Chico Farm (TAKE-TWO!) is TOMORROW, Wednesday May 28

Prune Research Tour Part 1 is this Thursday, May 29

North Sac Valley Groundwater and SGMA is on Tuesday, June 24

In the San Joquin Valley: The Almond Board of California is hosting a Production Summit on Wednesday, June 18 where you can hear from researchers on advances in almond production research.

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

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

Dr. Roger Baldwin (UCCE Specialist in Human-Wildlife Conflict Resolution) discusses orchard management of pocket gophers, ground squirrels, voles (meadow mice), roof rats, and deer mice. This is a compilation of two episodes from 2022, with Luke Milliron providing a new introduction with highlights from 2024/2025.

Skip to the pest you’re concerned about:

00:05:35 Pocket Gophers

00:35:12 Ground Squirrels

00:48:33 Voles/Meadow Mice

01:02:38 Roof Rats

01:12:39 Deer Mice 

2025 Update on Roof Rats: The Baldwin Lab (UC Davis) now has further data to show that the A24 trap did not end up working well, even with the addition of a platform under the trap. They also showed that snap traps used within trapping tunnels were very effective at reducing roof rat abundance and reinvasion in citrus orchards.  Ultimately, a combination of trapping and baiting were highly effective at reducing roof rat abundance in citrus orchards and kept populations from rebounding for an extended period of time (at least 6 months as that is the duration that we tested, but in reality, the length of time would be more than that).

Other resources: 

Gophers, Ground Squirrels, and Voles… Oh My!

UC IPM notes on pocket gophers

UC ANR video on how to set gopher traps

Vertebrate Pest Control Handbook Chapter on Controlling Pocket Gophers

Ground squirrels: http://www.groundsquirrelbmp.com/

 Voles: http://vpcrac.org/files/4314/7612/1259/Meadow_vole_chapter.pdf

Deer Mice: http://vpcrac.org/files/3114/7612/0294/Deer_mice.pdf

Roof rats and deer mice: https://anrcatalog.ucanr.edu/pdf/8513.pdf; http://ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn74106.html

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

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

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

Drs. Or Sperling (ARO-Volcani) and Maciej Zwieniecki (UC Davis) discuss their groundbreaking research on almond irrigation. That research has culminated in an exciting irrigation scheduling application. We also get an overview of almond production in Israel. The UC Davis Carbohydrate Observatory is also referenced.

Come to an upcoming extension meeting!

Sacramento Valley

San Joaquin Valley (scroll to the bottom)

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

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

Cytospora is a devastating fungal canker disease in California prune production. Themis Michailides (UC Davis at Kearney Ag Center) updates us on the biology and management of this important disease. Themis has covered this disease on the podcast before but is back with key updates.

Come to an upcoming extension meeting!

Sacramento Valley

San Joaquin Valley (scroll to the bottom)

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

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

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

2025 Fungicides, Bactericides, Biocontrols, and Natural Products for Deciduous Tree Fruit and Nut, Citrus, Strawberry, and Vine Crops in California

Fire is a fact of life in California, whether you live in a fire-prone area or you live in an area that can be impacted by smoke. Smoke doesn’t just cause health issues to animals - it impacts plants, too! Jessica Orozco and Maciej Zwieniecki at UC Davis have been using citizen science data from The Carbohydrate Observatory to try to guess at the impacts on tree nut orchards in the Central Valley.

Are you interested in contributing to the carbohydrate observatory? You can find out how to submit samples here, but don’t forget to share yields!

Come to an upcoming extension meeting!

Sacramento Valley

San Joaquin Valley (scroll to the bottom)

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

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

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

English/Persian walnuts have a fairly high chill requirement and can suffer from poor bud break and reduced yields in years with marginal or low chill accumulation. Katherine Jarvis-Shean (UCCE Yolo, Solano, and Sacramento Counties) has been looking at the efficacy of rest-breaking agents, both in semi-controlled conditions and in commercial orchards. She shares how well they work, their effect on yields, budbreak, and walnut quality, and the surprising interaction of chill accumulation with rest-breaking efficacy. To find out more about Katherine’s research, you can read more here or listen to a previous episode here.

Come to an upcoming extension meeting!

Sacramento Valley

San Joaquin Valley (scroll to the bottom)

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

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

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