February Almond Orchard Management Considerations
Print off this checklist to make sure you don’t miss any important orchard tasks during almond bloom! Continue reading
Monthly Archives: January 2017
When Should You Apply the First Irrigation of the Season?
With the storms moving through, you may not even have irrigation on your radar yet, but we’ll be into irrigation season before you know it. How should you decide when to turn the water on? Continue reading
Protecting Honey Bees During Bloom
With almond bloom on the horizon, it is time to revisit best management practices for protecting pollinators during this critical time. Remember that communication is key during the bloom period. Keep reading to make sure that you are taking care of your pollinators. Continue reading
Post-Harvest Walnut Navel Orangeworm Update-2016
Now that the 2016 season has come and gone, it is a good time to reflect on pest management issues and use information learned to improve our IPM program in the coming year. Navel orangeworm (NOW) appeared to be a significant factor again in 2016 in walnut damage assessments. A number of growers and PCAs were caught off-guard by the worm damage present in 2016. Here are some considerations for planning your integrated NOW management program for 2017. Continue reading
Honeybees, Colony Strength, and Beekeeper Challenges
Always be aware of honey bees when they’re in your orchard to pollinate your crop. After all, you’re paying good money for the bees to do a critical job! You can go a long way toward protecting the health of honey bee colonies by avoiding contamination of pollen and pollen foragers and by avoiding products with potential toxicity to honey bees or their larvae while bees are in your orchard. This is good husbandry and it’s in the interest of both the grower and the beekeeper. Continue reading
Counting Winter Chill
The last few years have been highly variable in winter chill accumulation and spring bloom and leaf-out behavior. What’s driving this behavior? What can we expect this year? And how can one track and interpret chill accumulation? Continue reading