Growing the Valley

This episode was originally intended to be part of the climate change series, but ended up being more appropriate as a stand alone episode. Phoebe and Mae Culumber (UCCE Fresno County) discuss the importance of carbon in soil quality, as well as explains some research she’s doing on the role of nitrogen in whole orchard recycling. 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.

Brad Hanson has been looking at increasing the efficacy of grass herbicides and details his work using sequential applications for better weed control. Mention of trade names is to report research results and is not an endorsement or recommendation. Always check the label before applying. http://www.sacvalleyorchards.com/events/ www.sjvtandv.com 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.

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

Janine Hasey (UC ANR Cooperative Extension Farm Advisor Emerita) discusses sudden freeze events, their effects on walnut, and necessary steps to mitigate future freeze damage.

Janine Hasey (UC ANR Cooperative Extension Farm Advisor Emerita) synthesizes decades of collaborative research to deliver key grower considerations for all the commercially available walnut rootstocks in California.

Dr. Ted DeJong (UC Davis Plant Sciences and UC ANR Cooperative Extension emeritus) discusses the physiology of dwarfing rootstocks and their influence on orchard management. DeJong provides some key considerations for growers when selecting a rootstock for their next orchard.

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

Dr. Amanda Hodson (UC Davis - Dept. of Entomology & Nematology) discusses her lab’s research on the soil health benefits of olive pomace and olive pomace compost. There are numerous potential benefits of this olive oil co-product!

Sat Darshan Khalsa explains nitrogen dynamics in the soil, including mineralization, gaseous losses, and answers some questions that Phoebe has regarding nitrogen uptake and a new kind of nitrogen fertilizer. 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.

Encore airing of a 2018 episode: Phoebe Gordon sits down with farm advisor David Doll (with UCCE Merced at the time) to discuss tested strategies to overcome the replant problem, with a focus on almond production.

In part five of the climate change series, Phoebe sits down with Tapan Pathak and Jhalendra Rijal to discuss the results of a study they published, examining the effects of climate change on Navel Orangeworm. While the study is based off of climate and insect models, like Daniel Swain mentioned in Part 3, these models are based on fundamental physical (and in the case of navel orangeworm, biological) properties. 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 our 1-minute challenges we describe key almond, pistachio, prune, and walnut orchard tasks for the month of September.

Our concerns about how climate change will affect agriculture don’t just extend to crop performance; pest species will also be affected. In this week’s episode, Lynn Sosnoskie returns to talk about implications for weed management. 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.

Daniel Swain, a climate scientist with UC Los Angeles’ Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, discusses climate models and California’s climate with Phoebe in this week’s episode. He shares what we’ve already seen, what climate scientists know will continue to happen, and clarifies a common misconception about what the future of precipitation will look like in California. If you would like to learn more about the work that Daniel does, as well as get monthly (or so) updates on California’s climate, visit his blog at https://weatherwest.com/. 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.

Arnold Bloom, a Distinguished Professor of plant sciences at UC Davis, shares a brief overview of the science of climate change and does a deep dive into how it will affect plants, with an emphasis on crops. You can find his online, free class on climate change here: https://www.climatechangecourse.org/ 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.