Your source for orchard news & information in the Sacramento Valley
Drew Wolter, UCCE Junior Specialist Horticulture Intern & M.S Student, University of California, Davis, Department of Weed Science Weeds impact orchard productivity and health by competing with young trees for water, light, and nutrients, and may act as hosts for a … Continue reading
Katrina Von Burg and Bob Johnson, Rizzo Lab, Department of Plant Pathology, UC Davis Prune orchard surveys throughout the Sacramento Valley in 2016 and 2017 found significant presence of the wood decay fungus Phellinus tuberculosus. Phellinus causes decay in the … Continue reading
Dr. Jhalendra Rijal, Area IPM Advisor-Northern San Joaquin Valley, UCCE Statewide IPM Program There’s a new pest to keep an eye out for in almond orchards: brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB), Halyomorpha halys. BMSB has been found in urban areas … Continue reading
Updated October 2018; Originally posted May 2016 Luke Milliron, UCCE Orchard Systems Farm Advisor, Butte, Tehama, and Glenn Counties; Franz Niederholzer, UCCE Farm Advisor in Colusa and Sutter/Yuba Counties; Themis Michailides, UC Davis Plant Pathologist Cytospora is a major pest of prune … Continue reading
Plan to join us for this integrated orchard management short course featuring UC faculty, Cooperative Extension specialists and farm advisors, and USDA researchers who will provide an in-depth, comprehensive study of all phases of walnut culture and production. Registration for California residents opens September 4th. Continue reading
Boron is a weird nutrient in orchard crops, particularly in California. It’s needed in very small amounts, and some crops, like almonds, do not tolerate soil levels much above 1 ppm. To complicate things, boron tends to be deficient in some parts of the valley. Continue reading
A new UC Cooperative Extension podcast that focuses on growing orchard crops in the San Joaquin and Sacramento valleys is now available. Continue reading
Prune growers should be aware that current weather conditions favor development of blue prune and an associated leaf scorch. Continue reading
These photos show various symptoms observed on trees that were intentionally over-irrigated throughout the season. Continue reading
Recent research has shown we may have a new tool to protect trees and vines from vole damage. However, this product is not currently registered for such a use. We need your response to know whether there’s enough interest in a new way to control vole damage to warrant seeking registration. Continue reading
Growers are faced with an ever-changing list of commercial “tools”, each with the promise of providing some advantage to the farmer. With the large number of new products available, and the number of salespeople promoting them, it is often difficult for growers to distinguish between products likely to provide real benefit, and those that may actually reduce the profitability of the farm. When approached with a new product or technology it is obligatory to challenge claims with the following questions: Continue reading
As soil treatment options become increasingly limited, more restrictive and less effective, the priority to identify a genetic solution to solve or reduce the replant issue is of increasing interest. One genetic solution is to find or develop rootstocks to help manage soil related problems. Also of interest are root and tree characteristics imparting canopy size control, good anchorage and little or no root suckering. In 2011, University of California Farm Advisors and campus based faculty designed and planted 3 large rootstock experiments to evaluate 29 prune rootstocks. Continue reading
I am the new agronomy and weed science farm advisor for Glenn, Butte and Tehama counties, based at the UCCE Glenn office in Orland. I am working in small grains, corn, sunflower, cotton, alfalfa and dry beans. In addition, as a weed science advisor, I am looking forward to also working on weed control in orchard crops. Continue reading
So, every few weeks the question comes up of whether to install soil moisture meters which leads to the question of which to buy and install or have installed. And then come the questions of what do the readings mean and why aren’t the readings consistent? Or maybe this question arrives after the grower has installed the sensors or system and the values don’t conform to a known or knowable pattern. Continue reading
Adapted from: “Potassium Nutrition – Maintaining Optimum Levels by Replacing What You’ve Lost” by Katherine Jarvis-Shean. Originally published in Sacramento Valley Prune News, Fall 2014. Fall is an excellent time to manage the potassium (K) needs of prune trees. Assessment … Continue reading