Growing the Valley

Phoebe spoke with Kris back in December on ant control in almonds. The good news is that it’s very easy and effective, but you need to stay on top of it. Mention of a trade name is not an endorsement or recommendation, and always check the label before applying.

Find out more about this pest at: https://www2.ipm.ucanr.edu/agriculture/almond/Ants/

We're conducting a survey to evaluate the pod as a teaching tool.  Participation is optional, results are confidential and you can stop taking it at any time.  We would like to use this to improve the pod, so please consider participating! https://ucdavis.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_8BOQCy5cvb7UyOx

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.

SWD is a serious insect pest of soft-skinned fruit, especially cherries. Jhalendra Rijal has been researching this pest and has some control tips for California cherry growers. Mention of a trade name is not an endorsement or recommendation, and always check the label before applying.

We're conducting a survey to evaluate the pod as a teaching tool.  Participation is optional, results are confidential and you can stop taking it at any time.  We would like to use this to improve the pod, so please consider participating! https://ucdavis.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_8BOQCy5cvb7UyOx

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.

Phoebe and Luke discuss walnut, prune, almond and pistachio tasks for May, as well as reports of leafing failure issues in almond, pistachio, and walnut.

In the third episode of our nitrogen in tree crops miniseries, I sit down over Zoom with Sebastian Saa with the Almond Board of California, to talk about his research in early leaf sampling of almonds, as well as several other tree crops.

In the second episode of our nitrogen in tree crops miniseries, I sit down over Zoom with Franz Niederholzer (UCCE Colusa) to talk about nitrogen management in almond production.

In the first episode of our nitrogen in tree crops miniseries, I sit down over Zoom with Phoebe Gordon to talk about the 4 R’s of nitrogen management.

I got the chance a few weeks ago to chat with Fred Hoffman of the KSTE Farm Hour about not tying too closely when staking walnut trees. Our conversation is based on an article I wrote with Janine Hasey and Bruce Lampinen.

We hope everyone is safe and healthy during these trying times. We cover April’s tasks in this episode. Phoebe was having a hard time with a new recording method that involved delayed playback through headphones, so her one-minute challenge part was slightly edited for clarity.

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 by Muriel Gordon.

Luke goes over walnut blight management in walnuts, which can be a significant issue in the Sacramento Valley. Listen to find out more about treatment timing, strategies, and resistance management. Mention of a trade name is not an endorsement or recommendation.

You can find out more at:

http://www.sacvalleyorchards.com/walnuts/diseases/walnut-blight-management/

https://www2.ipm.ucanr.edu/agriculture/walnut/Walnut-Blight/

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

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.