As growers get into the 2018 almond growing season, they hope for a successful pollination period. According to Billy Synk from Project Apis m., almond growers can achieve better pollination when they plant a forage cover crop in the fall to trigger the bees into activity come spring. Watch this interview as Billy explains, and read more about it in Pacific Nut Producer Magazine.
The engineering of flowering agricultural field borders has emerged as a research and policy priority to mitigate threats to pollinators. Studies have, however, rarely addressed the potential that flowering field borders might compete with neighboring crops for pollinator visits if they both are in bloom at the same time, despite this being a concern expressed by growers. We evaluated how wildflower plantings added to orchard borders in a large (512 ha) commercial almond orchard affected honey bee and wild bee visitation to orchard borders and the crop. The study was conducted over two consecutive seasons using three large (0.48 ha) wildflower plantings paired with control orchard borders in a highly simplified agricultural landscape in California. Honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) and wild bee visitation to wildflower plots were at least an order of magnitude higher than to control plots, but increased honey bee visitation to wildflower plots did not lead to any detectable shifts in honey bee visitation to almond flowers in the neighboring orchard. Wild bees were rarely observed visiting almond flowers irrespective of border treatment, indicating a limited short-term potential for augmenting crop pollination using wild bees in highly simplified agricultural landscapes. Although further studies are warranted on bee visitation and crop yield from spatially independent orchards, this study indicates that growers can support bees with alternative forage in almond orchards without risking competition between the wildflower plantings and the crop. Read the full report from Oxford’s Environmental Entomology Journal Here.
[one_half]This image was featured in the 2018 Pacific Nut Producer Calendar for the month of February. It is free for personal use for a desktop wallpaper etc. Commercial use of this image without written consent is prohibited.
[/one_half][one_half_last][btn btnlink=”http://www.pacificnutproducer.com/download/264/” btnsize=”full” txtcolor=”#ffffff” color=”#FFF” bgcolor=”#492500″ btnnewt=”1″ nofollow=”1″] Download Image[/btn]
[btn btnlink=”https://malcolmmedia.com/order-a-back-issue/back-issue-pacific-nut-producer-magazine/” btnsize=”full” txtcolor=”#ffffff” color=”#FFF” bgcolor=”#492500″ btnnewt=”1″ nofollow=”1″]Order A PNP Calendar[/btn]
[btn btnlink=”http://malcolmmedia.com/pacific-nut-producer-magazine-subscriptions/” btnsize=”full” txtcolor=”#ffffff” bgcolor=”#492500″ btnnewt=”1″ nofollow=”1″]Subscribe Free[/btn][/one_half_last]
If you missed the Annual Tree & Vine Expo, Marline Azevedo with the Stanislaus County Ag Commissioner’s office provided an update on changes in laws and regulations for growers moving into 2018. Watch her brief interview as she describes two key changes in Chlorpyrifos permit conditions & pesticide use around school sites. Read more in Pacific Nut Producer Magazine.
If you missed the State of the State of the Industry presentation at the annual Almond Conference, watch this brief interview with Richard Waycott and Mike Mason from the Almond Board who shared their outlook of the future of the California almond industry. Read more in Pacific Nut Producer Magazine. Don’t currently receive it? Subscribe for free HERE today!
The 45th annual Almond Board Conference brought thousands of almond growers and industry members together at the Sacramento Convention Center for another great event featuring the latest production and market research funded by the industry through the Almond Board of California. Watch this brief video for Richard Waycott’s final remarks at the conclusion of the three day event as growers move into a new year.
Mating disruption technology for Navel Orangeworm Control has been around for a while now, but today there are a lot more products on the market available to tree nut growers. UCCE Entomology Farm Advisor in Kern County, David Haviland shared in an interview with California Ag Network that his research trials prove that not only is mating disruption technology a worthwhile investment for growers, but growers have several effective options to choose from. Watch this interview and read more about it in Pacific Nut Producer Magazine.
[one_half]This image was featured in the 2018 Pacific Nut Producer Calendar for the month of January. It is free for personal use for a desktop wallpaper etc. Commercial use of this image without written consent is prohibited.
[/one_half][one_half_last][btn btnlink=”http://www.pacificnutproducer.com/download/262/” btnsize=”full” txtcolor=”#ffffff” color=”#FFF” bgcolor=”#492500″ btnnewt=”1″ nofollow=”1″] Download Image[/btn]
[btn btnlink=”https://malcolmmedia.com/order-a-back-issue/back-issue-pacific-nut-producer-magazine/” btnsize=”full” txtcolor=”#ffffff” color=”#FFF” bgcolor=”#492500″ btnnewt=”1″ nofollow=”1″]Order A PNP Calendar[/btn]
[btn btnlink=”http://malcolmmedia.com/pacific-nut-producer-magazine-subscriptions/” btnsize=”full” txtcolor=”#ffffff” bgcolor=”#492500″ btnnewt=”1″ nofollow=”1″]Subscribe Free[/btn][/one_half_last]
There are many different tasks to prepare almond orchards for winter, including postharvest irrigation and fertilization. Kingsburg grower Jaswant Bal is new in the almond industry and hasn’t had a crop yet, but is topping his 2 year-old almonds to promote lateral growth. Watch his interview here and read more about growers near you in Pacific Nut Producer Magazine.