Growing the Valley

In our 1-minute challenges Luke and Phoebe describe key almond, pistachio, prune, and walnut orchard tasks for the month of March.

Dr. Roger Baldwin (UCCE Specialist in Human-Wildlife Conflict Resolution) discusses orchard management of pocket gophers, including control options and timing based on environmental conditions and reproductive cycles.

In part two of the navel orangeworm (NOW) mini-series, Luke Milliron sits down with farm advisor David Haviland to discuss the efficacy of mating disruption for managing NOW in almond!

Phoebe sits down with three guests (the first in Growing the Valley history!) to discuss what climate adaptation in California agriculture might look like. She’s joined by Gurreet Brar (CSU Fresno), Katherine Jarvis-Shean (UCCE Sacramento), and Tapan Pathak (UC Merced). 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. Follow us on Twitter! @SacOrchards and @SJVtandv

In our 1-minute challenges Luke and Phoebe describe key almond, pistachio, prune, and walnut orchard tasks for the month of February!

Dr. Helen Dahlke (UC Davis Department of Land, Air and Water Resources) discusses the principles of groundwater recharge in California, where and in which crops it can occur, and its effects on overall water quality.

Dr. Samuel Sandoval (UCCE Specialist in Water Management and UC Davis Land, Air & Water Resources) discusses five factors that influence water availability throughout a year and his outlook for the 2022 water year.

Dr. Ted DeJong (UC Davis Plant Sciences and UC ANR Cooperative Extension emeritus) provides a vision for the future of prune orchards, discussing how light interception, tree physiology, and fruit development impact orchard management.

In our 1-minute challenges Luke and Phoebe describe key almond, pistachio, prune, and walnut orchard tasks for the month of January!

In this encore episode: Luke and Phoebe sit down with Joe Connell, farm advisor emeritus for Butte County. Joe goes over the differences between advection and radiation frosts, ways to protect your orchard from frost protection, and the best irrigation systems for protecting against frosts. While we usually worry about frosts during bloom, early frosts can also damage orchards, particularly in the northern part of the state and in the foothills.

In the final installment of the rootstock series, farm advisors Franz Niederholzer and Luke Milliron talk about considerations for selecting a rootstock for prune production, particularly the exciting advantages with Krymsk 86 and Viking.

UCCE Advisor Dr. Elizabeth Fichtner (Tulare and Kings Counties) discusses the history of pistachio rootstock development and the benefits of the rootstock options available today.

Brittney Goodrich joins Growing the Valley again to discuss the bee outlook for the 2022 almond pollination season. 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.

Figs, like many other fresh fruit, suffer from postharvest loss due to fungal pathogens and shrivel. Leili Afsah Hejri, a scientist working in food safety, has been examining the use of ozone as a post-harvest treatment for sanitation as well as improving fruit quality. In this episode, she discusses the results of a recently published trial with Phoebe. 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.

UCCE Advisors Katherine Jarvis-Shean (Yolo-Solano-Sacramento Counties), Roger Duncan (Stanislaus County), and Joe Connell (Emeritus Butte County) come together to discuss current available almond rootstocks and the importance of selecting rootstock for growers’ orchard-specific challenges.