Growing the Valley

Phoebe continues the nitrogen series with a discussion on pistachio nitrogen needs with Craig Kallsen. Craig doesn’t just talk about the odd nutrient uptake patterns in the crop, and also brings a nuanced discussion of nitrogen management in low rainfall areas, as well as some of the drawbacks to spoonfeeding (hint: it’s related to cost!) Thanks to the Pistachio, Almond, Walnut and Prune Boards of California for their generous financial support. Music by Muriel Gordon. This is a UC ANR educational podcast. Any opinions or positions taken are those of the hosts and not the University of California. The use of this platform for and any advertisements connected with this podcast do not imply endorsement.

Phoebe talks to Zheng Wang about the basics of fertigation, including the importance of water temperature, how to keep clogs out of your system, and how to figure out when you need to time your injection. Additional resources for fertigation: http://cemonterey.ucanr.edu/files/170985.pdf Manual on fertigation with micro-irrigation: https://anrcatalog.ucanr.edu/Details.aspx?itemNo=21620 There’s one week left to evaluate the survey. Participation is optional, results are confidential and you can stop taking it at any time. We will share the results on the podcast and in articles. We will use the results to improve the podcast, so if you haven’t checked out the survey, have your voice be heard at ucanr.edu/podcastsurvey. Thanks to the Pistachio, Almond, Walnut and Prune Boards of California for their generous financial support. Music by Muriel Gordon. This is a UC ANR educational podcast. Any opinions or positions taken are those of the hosts and not the University of California. Use of this platform for and any advertisements connected with this podcast do not imply endorsement.

Franz Niederholzer discusses almond orchard pre-harvest preparations. Franz mentions some herbicide names, this does not constitute a pesticide recommendation, consult with your PCA and always read the label. Finally, the audio quality for our conversation is not ideal. However, Franz has really great information to share, so we appreciate your patience with the audio.

First: this is our 100th episode. Thank you so much for listening, and we’re excited to add some new kinds of content after we’ve wrapped up the survey. In this episode, Luke goes over BOT control in walnut orchards, including what kinds of tissues can be infected, chemical, and cultural control. For more on Botryosphaeria in walnut see: http://www.sacvalleyorchards.com/walnuts/diseases/botryosphaeria-canker-blight/ For more information on fungicide efficacy, consult the walnut tables at the end of this document: http://ipm.ucanr.edu/PDF/PMG/fungicideefficacytiming.pdf These tables do not constitute a pesticide recommendation merely the sharing of research results. Always follow the pesticide label. 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! ucanr.edu/podcastsurvey Thanks to the Pistachio, Almond, Walnut and Prune Boards of California for their generous financial support. Music by Muriel Gordon. This is a UC ANR educational podcast. Any opinions or positions taken are those of the hosts and not the University of California. Use of this platform for and any advertisements connected with this podcast do not imply endorsement.

Katherine Jarvis-Shean (UCCE Yolo) discusses the latest walnut nitrogen management best practices. Dr. Jarvis-Shean thanks the California Department of Food and Agriculture and the California Walnut Board for supporting this research.

We are challenged to list July almond, pistachio, prune, and walnut orchard tasks. We also discuss the complexities of almond hull split regulated deficit irrigation.

Ganoderma adspersum is a wood rot fungus that isn’t behaving quite like other wood rot fungi. It’s bringing down trees at much younger ages than typical wood rot fungi do. Bob Johnson, Ph.D. candidate, shares what he’s learned about this fungus. 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! ucanr.edu/podcastsurvey Thank you to the Almond Board of California, the California Pistachio Research Board, the California Prune Board, and the California Walnut Board. Music is by Muriel Gordon.

While the research isn’t quite ready for prime time, David Haviland and other UCANR IPM advisors are looking into using yellow sticky cards to monitor thrips populations. Thrips are an extremely effective spider mite predator and if populations are high enough, you probably don’t need to spray. For more on spider mite management, check out episode 40. 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! ucanr.edu/podcastsurvey Thank you to the Almond Board of California, the California Pistachio Research Board, the California Prune Board, and the California Walnut Board. Music is by Muriel Gordon.

Today’s episode is focused on almonds, but have some validity for all tree crops. Nitrogen management in California is not quite as advanced as in other areas of the Midwest since we manage nutrition based on an entire irrigation block. Patrick discusses how this may change in the future, as well as the basics of predicting yield when actual yield is unknown. 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! ucanr.edu/podcastsurvey Thank you to the Almond Board of California, the California Pistachio Research Board, the California Prune Board, and the California Walnut Board. Music is by Muriel Gordon.

Luke and Phoebe are challenged to list the major orchard tasks in a minute for walnut and prune, and almond and pistachio, respectively!

In the fourth episode of our nitrogen in tree crops miniseries David Doll discuss his research on fertilizing young almond orchards.

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.