Growing the Valley

In the second part of this unofficial series, Phoebe discusses mechanical harvesting of olives with Louise Ferguson, Mediterranean Tree Crops Specialist at UC Davis. They discuss issues with harvesting table vs oil olives, tree structure, machinery, and more.

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

In the final episode of the navel orangeworm (NOW) series, Luke Milliron sits down with Sacramento Valley UCCE IPM advisor Dr. Emily Symmes to discuss sanitation practices for reducing the overwintering population of this devastating pest in nut crops.

The Brown Marmorated Stink Bug is a fairly new pest to California, though it’s been in the US for a while. It has just started to move into agricultural areas in the San Joaquin Valley. In this episode, Jhalendra tells Phoebe about some of this research and observations with this new pest in Stanislaus County.

Phoebe interviews Louise Ferguson, the Mediterranean Tree Crop Specialist with UC Davis. We talk about what we currently know about pistachio alternate bearing, as well as research on pruning methods that can help reduce the severity of alternate bearing.

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

Phoebe and Luke square off once again. What do you need to know for August tasks? Who wins? Did Luke even set a timer? Listen to find out!

The one-minute challenge discussion is for informational purposes only and is not a pesticide or management recommendation. Find out more at ipm.ucanr.edu.

Thank you to the Almond Board of California and the California Pistachio Research Board for their kind donations. Thank you to Muriel Gordon for the music

Pecans aren’t widely planted in California, and many pecan pests and diseases are not present in the state (note: if acreage goes up, this will likely change!). Phoebe Gordon and Dr. Richard Heerema of New Mexico State University discuss the major pests that you can expect to find in a California pecan orchard: black pecan aphids, yellow aphids (which can be two different species), and stink bugs.

Mention of a trade name is not an endorsement or recommendation. Always check the label before application.

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

Phoebe talks with Richard Heerema, the pecan specialist for New Mexico State University, about pecan botany and physiology, and why it may not be as good of a choice for areas prone to flooding as you think it might be. This is an episode for those who are thinking of planting pecans but have not done so.

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

How can we get the most use out of the management tools discussed in this irrigation series? Potentially by bringing greater precision with zone irrigation and individually irrigating different almond varieties. While returning by train from an irrigation meeting, Dr. Catherine Mae Culumber UCCE Nut Crop farm advisor in Fresno County discusses with Luke Milliron her exciting research into precision and regulated deficit irrigation of almond.

Phoebe and Luke are back with walnut, prune, almond and pistachio tasks for July!

Phoebe discusses irrigation pumps, including their capacity and maintenance, with Jon Chilcote, a USDA NRCS team engineer for the Southern San Joaquin Valley.

The website for the Department of Water Resources groundwater data: http://wdl.water.ca.gov/waterdatalibrary/

There are several additional resources you can find on our episode page.

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