Pacific Nut Producer Magazine

Category: Pest/Disease Management

  • Finding Truth & What to Do Amidst the Controversy Over Crop Protection Materials “Pesticides”

    Agriculture and the science of crop protection materials is too often misunderstood by the public and is under constant attack by extremists in the political arena. As legislation and jurisdiction begins to more commonly ignore sound science in their decision-making, farmers are rightfully concerned about the future of agriculture and what may or may not be in their power to make a difference in protecting their freedom to utilize these valuable tools.  Watch this brief interview with Jay Vroom, former CEO of CropLife America as he shares some insights.

    Please thank our sponsor Duarte Nursery for their industry support by visiting them at their booth at Malcolm Media’s Annual Grape Grower Expos next month.

  • First Genome of Spotted Lanternfly Built from a Single Insect

    Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists, in cooperation with Pacific Biosciences and Penn State University, have published the first genome of the invasive Spotted Lanternfly (SLF) in the journal Gigascience and they did it from a single caught-in-the-wild specimen.

    Not only is it the first published genome for this pest, but no closely related species has had its genome sequenced, making the data even more important, according to entomologist Scott M. Geib with the ARS Daniel K Inouye U.S. Pacific Basin Agricultural Research Center.

    SLF, a native of China, Bangladesh and Vietnam, was first found in Pennsylvania in 2014 and has now spread to Virginia, Maryland and New York. This invasive pest has a taste for almonds, apples, apricots, grapes, peaches, blueberries and hops as well as hardwoods such as oak, walnut, and poplar. Various estimates put the potential economic damage in the billions of dollars, if the SLF becomes widely established in the United States.

    “Having the genome for this pest opens the door to a better understanding of its biology and behavior, and makes coming up with potential control methods much more likely to happen, such as developing a lure for a trap through understanding the insect’s olfactory genes, or exploring avenues such as gene editing or RNAi,” said Geib.

    While having the SLF genome is critical for the management and control of this invasive pest, the approach taken to obtain the genetic data is an achievement of remarkable note as well. For the first time, all of the DNA required to generate a whole genome sequence was taken from a single insect picked from a tree in the wild in Reading, Pennsylvania, across the street from the Reading Pagoda on Mt. Penn.

    One hurdle for deciphering this species’ genome is its relatively large genome size, at about 2.2 billion base pairs. Typically, with previous sequencing systems, many sequencing runs would have been needed to do the complete job, with each run using up the available DNA for the organism being sequenced.

    So often to have sufficient DNA for a complete genome sequence, many organisms would need to be pooled, introducing more opportunities for errors to be generated. To avoid such potential for errors, the subjects—especially insects—often have to be raised in colonies and inbred.

    “In cooperation with Pacific Biosciences and using their new sequencing platform—the PacBio Sequel II—that produces 10 times the data from a single sequencing run, we were able to generate sufficient coverage from just a single specimen. This allows for a very fast turn-around of data and assemblies as well as lowers cost, in this case under $2,000 in consumable supplies, not including the purchase price of the sequencing instrument of course,” explained Geib.

    For genome completeness, and since there aren’t many related genomes to compare that of the SLF to, the team checked a set of “core genes” that should be present exactly one time in all insects and verified how many of these were found in this genome project. In this case, they found about 97 percent of these single copy core genes, with a very low rate of duplication.

    “Sequencing such a large insect genome quickly and showing there is no need to pull the insect into a colony raises the feasibility that we can complete the Ag100Pest Project,” Geib said. The ARS Ag100Pest initiative is focused on deciphering the genomes of 100 insect species that are most destructive to crops and livestock and that are projected to have profound bioeconomic impacts to agriculture and the environment. “Now, with this system, doing 100 or even 1,000 genomes is not unrealistic,” he added.

    The ability to get a complete genome from a small amount of DNA also makes it practical to consider sequencing the genomes of physically tiny insects without having to catch or raise a large number of any one species. That expands the list of insects that may be genetically sequenced.

    By Kim Kaplan, USDA-ARS

    The Agricultural Research Service is the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s chief scientific in-house research agency. Daily, ARS focuses on solutions to agricultural problems affecting America. Each dollar invested in agricultural research results in $20 of economic impact.

  • Want a Strong Start to the Crop Year? You Need To Mummy Shake

    Even though growers are just completing this year’s harvest, it’s never too early to start thinking about winter sanitation.

    Winter is the time to remove and destroy mummy nuts that harbor navel orangeworm (NOW) larvae, which can hatch in the spring and wreak havoc in the orchard. By removing the nuts, growers are eliminating both a shelter and food source for these overwintering pests. This practice falls in line with the strategic and effective Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program for NOW, one that includes different tactics depending on the time of the year.

    “Winter sanitation is the core of IPM programs,” said David Haviland, a UCCE farm advisor in Kern County who specialist in entomology and pest management.

    Here are some quick tips growers should keep in mind when preparing to remove mummy nuts from their orchards, a.k.a. “mummy shake”:

    • Mummy nuts become most obvious after trees have shed their leaves, and growers should look to knock all the mummies off the trees no later than Jan. 15.
    • A good time for winter sanitation is when dew has formed or after it’s rained because mummy nuts will have absorbed some moisture, making them heavier and more likely to fall. In addition, a wet orchard floor helps to increase NOW mortality rates.
    • Growers can remove mummy nuts by bringing the shaker through their orchards or hiring crews to knock mummies to the ground using long poles.
      • To note: Both hard- and soft-shell varieties can harbor overwintering NOW, so growers must be sure to remove mummies in both types.
    • Growers should aim to have fewer than two mummers per tree before bud swell (around Feb. 1). However, growers in the San Joaquin Valley should aim for less than one mummy per tree.
    • Once on the ground, mummy nuts should be swept into windrows and destroyed, either with a flail mower or by disking them into the soil, by March. 15.

    Removing mummy nuts and reducing NOW levels using environmentally friendly techniques is key to helping the California almond industry achieve its Almond Orchard 2025 Goals, one of which is to increase adoption of environmentally friendly pest management tools by 25% by 2025.

    Josette Lewis, the Almond Board’s director of Agricultural Affairs, said growers must realize that in the end the cost of efficient winter sanitation pays for itself.

    “It is important to recognize that the return on investment comes from both a higher yield after shelling and a higher price premium at the handler,” Lewis said. “In other words, without good winter sanitation, yield loss occurs due to rejection of mummy nuts from the previous year and heavily NOW-damaged nuts from the current season.”

    To help remind growers to break the link between mummy nuts and NOW, the Almond Board of California created a parody song that’s sure to be an “orchard smash.” It’s “The Mummy Shake” — and if you and your family dance and sing along, you’ll be in the running to receive tickets to a luncheon at The Almond Conference 2019 in Sacramento in addition to either tickets to Disneyland or a $500 Amazon gift card! Visit Almonds.com/NOW to learn more.

    Courtesy of the Almond Board of California

  • Black Soldier Fly to Support Almond Industry

    With a growing almond industry and an increasing supply of coproducts, such as hulls and shells, researchers are searching for new and resourceful ways of utilizing the extra material as an asset.  Breaking these coproducts down to a form that may be utilized back in the soil or as a feed supplement has been a challenge in the past; but this may all change with the introduction of a new helpful fly on the block.  Watch this brief interview with Eric Tilton from Hermetia Pro Inc. regarding this Black Soldier Fly, and read more about it in Pacific Nut Producer Magazine.

     

    Please thank our sponsor Duarte Nursery for their industry support by visiting them at their booth at the following November Events: Tree & Vine Expo, the Grape, Nut & Tree Fruit Expo & Blue Diamond Growers Annual Membership Meeting.

  • Be Sure to Manage these Insect pests in Young Pistachio Orchards

    Growers likely have heard a lot about the damage leaf footed bugs and navel orange worm can cause to their pistachio crop, but what about integrated pest management practices in the early nonbearing years of an orchard?  When there’s no crop, growers may overlook the impact that some insect pests can have their young trees that are in their critical years of establishment.  These pests should not be ignored; but what are these pests, and how does a grower go about managing them?  Watch this brief interview with Entomology Farm Advisor from the UC Cooperative Extension David Haviland as he explains and read more about it in Pacific Nut Producer Magazine.

     

    Please thank our sponsor Duarte Nursery for their industry support by visiting them at their booth at the following November Events: Tree & Vine Expo, the Grape, Nut & Tree Fruit Expo & Blue Diamond Growers Annual Membership Meeting.

  • BASF Launches Operation Weed Eradication to Help Growers Eradicate Weeds

    BASF launched a new industry-wide initiative to eliminate on-farm weeds. Operation Weed Eradication calls on growers and partners to take action against troublesome weeds in their fields, through cultural practices, chemical control and enhanced diligence.

    Research by Stratus Ag shows that nearly 75 percent of growers nationwide are dealing with glyphosate-resistant weeds in their fields and today’s management practices are not sustainable for long-term control of problem weeds such as pigweed.

    “Our approach to on-farm eradication will uproot problem weeds and help secure a sustainable farming future that builds a successful legacy for seasons and generations to come,” said Scott Kay, Vice President U.S. Crop, BASF Agricultural Solutions. “Weed eradication will be a personalized, tailored journey for each grower with different start and end points. BASF will support growers with expertise and continuous innovation to support this journey.”

    Operation Weed Eradication takes a balanced approach of utilizing cultural practices such as conventional tillage, chemical control such as rotating chemistries, and eradication diligence such as hand weeding to help growers eradicating troublesome on-farm weeds.

    In the coming months, BASF will assemble a coalition of industry leaders, develop a specific eradication customer offering and launch an educational initiative to support its efforts with Operation Weed Eradication.To learn more, please visit

    OperationWeedEradication.com.

  • California Walnut Board 2019 Production Research Priorities

    Walnut production research goes back over five decades. Each year, the California Walnut Board’s Production Research Committee recommends projects for funding based on industry’s short and long term needs. This year, the CWB members approved a total of 23 projects totaling $1.69 M for the 2019-2020 crop year.

    Production research continues to be fundamental to addressing production challenges in the areas of orchard management, entomology, breeding and genomics as well as plant pathology and nematology. The Production Research Committee sees the slate of projects it approves each year as an ongoing mix of short and long-range approaches: Short-range approaches, which typically consist of one or more sequential multi-year (2-3) projects by the same team of researchers, are designed to craft management solutions for problems in today’s orchards. Longer-range approaches–which almost always means plant breeding–are used to craft solutions for tomorrow’s orchards. Historically, new varieties with better productivity and quality were developed through a time-consuming process of selection and testing of hundreds to thousands of seedlings resulting from intentional crosses of chosen male and female parent trees. Increasingly, new DNA-based techniques are being deployed to accelerate the pace of this traditional process for creating new varieties. And these techniques are now also being used to speed the development of new rootstocks. It is important to emphasize that the new varieties and rootstocks that come out of these efforts will still be the result of traditional crossing of selected parents and evaluation of selection of seedlings, just augmented and made more efficient by understanding the genetics behind desirable traits.

    The scope of the breeding effort has also expanded: from finding productive high-quality productive new varieties that efficiently span the harvest timing window, to developing varieties and rootstocks that address orchard pest and disease problems–especially those that have eluded attempts to find sustainable solutions derived from shorter term research approaches.  Thus, breeding efforts now focus on reducing tree susceptibility to walnut blight, husk fly, nematode and water stress as well as the traditional goals of productivity, nut quality, and harvest timing.

    The Production Research Committee puts a high priority on striking an appropriate balance between short- and long-term research aimed at industry research needs. This balance fluctuates slightly from year to year and currently stands at a roughly 50-50 balance of short- and long-term efforts (Figure 1). Compared to other commodities, this is a large investment in the future of the California walnut industry. But our industry has always been forward looking: Most of today’s orchards, for example, are planted to varieties (and farmed using methods) developed through past industry investments in research and innovation.

    The following are just a few examples of current research:

    Breeding & Genomics:

    • Continued efforts to fill the harvest window with a sequence of productive, high quality, and pest resistant varieties, with a current emphasis on the Serr through Tulare timeframe
    • A first batch of Phytpohtopra, crown gall, and/or nematode resistant rootstocks have been advanced to ‘elite’ status and are now planted in small scale field trials around the state. Current rootstock improvements efforts are focused on moving additional candidates–some of which have resistance multiple diseases–through the disease screening process–and into the field trials.

    Diseases and Nematodes:

    • Continued efforts to find alternatives to–or better ways to use–copper+mancozeb to control blight
    • Replacing methyl bromide by field testing of new experimental and recently registered pre- and post-plant nematicides for control of lesion and root knot nematodes
    • A search for genetic and/or new molecular biology tools that will expedite the development of blackline resistant varieties or rootstocks

    Entomology

    • Continued efforts to understand aspects of navel orangeworm biology, movement, and monitoring that will make current control efforts more effective

    Orchard & Canopy Management

    • Continued refinement and validation of no- and reduced-pruning approaches in developing orchards
    • Support of ongoing pre- and post-emergence herbicide performance and safety evaluations in young and mature walnut orchards
    • An effort to improve irrigation scheduling and water application efficiency by integrating real-time estimates of orchard canopy water use (evapotranspiration, ETc) with plant other irrigation scheduling tools
    • Validation across multiple sites of the water-saving and tree health promoting potential of using pressure chamber monitoring of tree water status to delay the start of spring irrigations

    Other

    In addition to the above, CWB also provides a small amount of funding each year to UC Farm Advisors in support of local applied research trials they conduct and their efforts to extend knowledge and use of the results of those trials among growers.

    Figure 1. Twenty-three 2019 approved production research projects, totaling roughly $1.69M, divided by subject area.

  • Could CA Farmers Lose CalEPA & Science-Based Pesticide Regulation?

    Anti-pesticide sentiment has never been more prevalent, as California courts and anti-agricultural organizations frighten the public with non-science based claims of the harmful effects of crop protection materials such as glyphosate.  What farmers need to understand though now, is that much more than glyphosate is currently at stake.  The legislature is now being pressured to change the whole pesticide regulatory system as we know it.  Watch this brief interview with Michael Miiller, Director of Government Relations with the California Association of Winegrape Growers to learn more.

  • Increase of Early Almond Varieties Demands Evolution in the Industry

    One of the main concerns with recent almond acreage trends is in the exponential growth of earlier harvesting varieties and how the how that will impact early stockpiling at hulling and processing facilities.  Growers obviously want to harvest their crops as soon as possible, but Navel Orangeworm damage doesn’t stop as soon as the nuts leave the orchard.  Watch this brief video with Martin Pohl from Hughson Nut as he explains the situation and need for the almond industry to evolve with the trends.  Read more about it in Pacific Nut Producer Magazine.

  • 2018 USDA California Almond Nursery Sales Report

    The primary objective of the California Almond Nursery Sales Survey is to estimate future almond acres based on the number of almond trees sold for new plantings. This report summarizes data supplied by California nurseries throughout the State who sold to almond growers for commercial plantings. Results from this survey will be used in conjunction with the Almond Acreage Survey to estimate the almond acres in California.

    Questionnaires were mailed to all known almond nurseries in California and responses were received from 7 out of 10 operations. The nurseries were asked to report the total number of almond trees sold for commercial plantings and the total number of Nonpareil variety sold. They were also asked to report the percent of trees sold for new almond orchards, for replanting an existing orchard, or to replace trees within an already existing almond orchard. The totals are only for those nurseries that reported. Acres planted were calculated using the reported number of trees sold, along with the trees per acre from the Almond Acreage Survey.

    Results

    There were at least 10.1 million almond trees sold by California nurseries since June 1, 2017. Based on the Almond Acreage Survey, plantings from 2014 to 2018 were used to calculate an average trees per acre of 130. This results in approximately 78,000 acres of almonds planted from June 2017 through May 2018. Roughly 36,000 of these acres were Nonpareils. Nearly 53 percent of the total trees sold (41,000 acres) are new almond orchard acres and 41 percent (32,000 acres) replaced existing almond orchards. The remaining trees sold replaced trees within existing almond orchards.

    Acknowledgments

    The USDA, NASS Pacific Regional Office sincerely appreciates the nurseries for providing the information. A special thanks is due to the Almond Board of California for providing funding and support for this special Almond Nursery Sales Survey.
    Almond Nursery Sales Survey
    Almond Nursery Sales Survey Chart