Incorporating large amounts of woody biomass into soil, such as in whole orchard recycling (WOR), can promote carbon sequestration, nutrient recycling, and ecosystem health in agricultural fields. Yet uncertainty regarding the effects of WOR on soil carbon and nitrogen dynamics influences management decisions. Recently, Mae Culumber, Ph.D. with UC Cooperative Extension, Suduan Gao, Ph.D. with the USDA Agricultural Research Service, and others performed research to evaluate the effects of woodchip size and interaction with nitrogen fertilization on carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide emissions as well as soil organic carbon change. On this episode of Growing the Valley, they sit down with guest host Cameron Zuber to discuss some of their findings and how this may provide some considerations when implementing WOR.

The original article for this research from the Soil Science Society of America Journal can be found here https://acsess.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/saj2.20650 though payment may be needed to access.

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 of this podcast. Music is by Muriel Gordon.

Soil health is broad term that encompasses a important topic: functional soil that can support human activities, animals, and plants. Measuring soil health can be difficult even for soil scientists, but in today’s episode, Sarah Light shares some tools that growers, PCAs, and CCAs can use to judge soil health in their or their clients’ orchards.

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.

In 2023 UCANR advisors and specialists got an unusual number of farm calls on branch cankers in almonds, many of which turned out to be aerial phytophthora. Florent Trouillas with UC Davis goes over the pathogen, its lifecycle, and the conditions in 2023 that led to this outbreak.

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.

Luke Milliron discusses the growing list of problems with the Monterey almond variety in the northern Sacramento Valley.

Leafing failure (what is it)

Leafing failure (what might be causing it)

Flowering failure

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.

This week, we share an episode that was TWO YEARS IN THE MAKING (if you count continually rescheduling episode recording sessions due to various conflicts and then forgetting about it for a year as making an episode). Phoebe interviews Amisha Poret-Peterson with the USDA-ARS on the basics of soil microbiology. We discuss the complexity and role of the soil microbiome, bulk soil vs the rhizosphere, and more! Listen to hear some very amazing things.

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.

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.

Cover crops! They’re not just for almonds (despite the bulk of California orchard cover crop research being in that crop). Daniele Zaccaria has been conducting research on cover crops in California pistachio orchards and shares what he has found, including some interesting possibilities as to why they found higher yields in orchards with cover crops.

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.

Luke Milliron and Ken Shackel (UC Davis) sit down to talk about the decade plus of research investigating when to start irrigation in the spring for walnut orchards.

If you want to learn more about incorporating the pressure chamber to improve orchard health and cut costs - contact your local farm advisor or Luke at (530) 828-9666

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.

In a world where it feels like we have a new invasive pest every month, sometimes it’s hard for an arthropod to stand out. Last year, the nut industries were put on notice by Carpophilus truncatus, a tiny beetle that has commandeered big attention. Lucky for us (and unluckily for the Australians), we aren’t alone in trying to figure out how to keep this beetle under control. Houston Wilson shares what we know about its spread in the state, and what we can learn from Down Under.

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.

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.

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.