Pacific Nut Producer Magazine

Tag: UCANR

  • Five Ways to Avoid Expensive Irrigation Repairs & DU Losses

    Irrigation systems today are amazing at getting just the right amount of water where it needs to be to meet a crop’s needs; however, if these systems are not well-maintained, things can go south pretty fast, resulting in distribution uniformity-related losses and expensive repairs. During his presentation at Malcolm Media’s recent Tree & Vine Expo, UC Cooperative Extension Irrigation & Soils Advisor Moneim Mohamed noted that regular and proper irrigation system maintenance can prevent expensive repairs.  Watch his video interview with Matthew Malcolm on California Ag Network for five key tasks for preventative maintenance.

    Please thank this video’s sponsor Simplot Grower Solutions for their industry support.

  • How to Effectively Control Rats on California Farms in a State of Emergency

    Rats have taken an unusual interest in the specialty crop capital of the nation. Many attribute the cause to the pest multiplying unchecked in orchards and vineyards in the Central Valley that have been abandoned due to water restrictions and economic challenges. This becomes a real problem when the rats move into neighboring farms in active production, tearing up driplines, feeding on crops and damaging trees. Growers are in a state of emergency and have limited tools for managing this pest.  Malcolm Media Editor-in-Chief Matthew Malcolm met with UCCE Wildlife Specialist Roger Baldwin at the California Association of Pest Control Adviser’s annual conference to gain answers on how to knock down populations effectively and keep the pest at bay.  Watch this brief interview and learn more by attending Baldwin’s presentation on rat control at the Grape, Nut & Tree Fruit Expo at the Fresno Fairgrounds on Nov. 14 (register to attend at agexpo.biz).

    Please thank this video’s sponsor Simplot Grower Solutions for their industry support.

  • New Project Aims to Use Farm Waste to Fuel Bioeconomy

    In California’s Northern San Joaquin Valley, crop leftovers such as almond shells, fruit peels and orchard trimmings can potentially be converted into sustainable bioproducts and biofuels – with the right technology. The philanthropy Schmidt Sciences’ Virtual Institute on Feedstocks of the Future, which supports replacing fossil feedstocks with renewable biomass sources, has awarded new funding to a group investigating how to make better use of the diverse agricultural waste in the region.

    “This is an important project for California as it quantifies the diverse ‘ingredients’ in the North San Joaquin Valley available to fuel the emerging biomanufacturing industry in the state,” said Gabe Youtsey, chief innovation officer for the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources. “This foundational work will kickstart a completely new innovation bioeconomy in the Central Valley that will create new high-paying jobs for our communities and support a resilient food and agriculture industry through circular biomanufacturing.”

    Circular biomanufacturing is a process that uses waste streams as raw materials to create new products.

    “Circular means taking waste streams from agriculture such as almond shells or grape pomace, forest waste or food processing waste and using that material as the ‘feedstock’ in a fermentation tank to create new bioproducts,” Youtsey explained.

    The group, “Building the Circular Bioeconomy in the North San Joaquin Valley” or BioCircular Valley, is co-led by the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab), UC Berkeley, and BEAM Circular, with partners at UC Merced, UC Agriculture and Natural Resources, the Almond Board of California and USDA Agricultural Research Station in Albany.

    “California has this incredible diversity of materials, but they aren’t well understood – and this makes it difficult to know how to extract the most value out of them,” said Corinne Scown, a senior scientist at Berkeley Lab and UC Berkeley and one of the project leads. “We want to characterize them and make that information available so companies can more easily figure out which feedstock is a good match for them, and then use that agricultural residue to make everything from bio-based polymers and chemicals to sustainable materials and aviation fuels.”

    One of the group’s goals is to build a publicly accessible database and user-friendly map full of information about different feedstocks, the raw plant materials and biomass that can be broken down and used to make bioproducts. That includes where feedstocks are located, when they are available, how they are currently disposed of, how they perform in different bioreactors, how much sugar or lignin they contain, whether they can be processed with other feedstocks, their greenhouse gas footprint, the potential cost, and much more.

    UC ANR’s role is to collect data on available feedstocks from forest, agricultural and food processing byproducts, as well as municipal waste streams through sampling and observation.

    “We will do this through the extensive knowledge and relationships we have with the California agriculture industry in the North San Joaquin Valley,” Youtsey said. “UC ANR will also support industry outreach as new ‘conversion’ technologies are developed, to pilot them with California growers and processors.”

    The project will also test ways to improve the flexibility of the conversion process, which breaks down feedstocks to prepare them to make bioproducts. Researchers will apply artificial intelligence to their lab-generated data to improve predictions of how feedstocks can be processed most efficiently or blended together. Being able to use the same technique on different (or mixed) kinds of plant matter would open up ways for companies to make bioproducts more easily.

    “Our region has a fantastic combination of diverse and large-scale agricultural activities alongside manufacturing expertise, making this a great place to scale up bioeconomy innovation,” said Karen Warner, CEO of BEAM Circular. “This project will allow us to reduce barriers to using our region’s abundant waste streams in more sustainable and valuable ways, so that we can create the products that people need with renewable inputs that are better for the planet.”

    The project builds on ongoing efforts to establish biomanufacturing capabilities in the northern San Joaquin Valley, which includes San Joaquin, Stanislaus and Merced counties. Providing better data on how to convert the valley’s millions of tons of agricultural waste into valuable products may spur biomanufacturing companies to build facilities nearby, minimizing how far the raw materials have to be moved and generating new jobs.

    “This project is designed to benefit a region that has massive potential, but so far has been economically left behind, and to develop a new industry that can provide improvements in air quality, water quality and greenhouse gas emissions as well as significant opportunities in economic equity and the creation of new jobs,” said Blake Simmons, director of Berkeley Lab’s Biological Systems and Engineering Division and the BioCircular Valley project lead.

    “This kind of research started as basic science, and now we’re bringing information and solutions to people who can use them. And the knowledge generated through this project will advance not only the ability of the NSJV to make use of its own regionally available future feedstocks, but will also accelerate the understanding of feedstocks relevant across California and across the U.S.”

    The new funds for the project come from the Virtual Institute on Feedstocks of the Future, a partnership between Schmidt Sciences and the Foundation for Food & Agriculture that supports collaboration on research to transform biomass into alternative feedstocks for biomanufacturing. The award is one of five, which total $47.3 million over five years. It is expected that the five teams will collaborate to share best practices and knowledge to boost the bioeconomy at the national level.

    “We are grateful for Schmidt’s generous support that will help deploy advanced technologies on the ground,” said Alicia Chang, interim president of Berkeley Lab Foundation. “The foundational research and expertise developed through work for the Department of Energy sets the stage for this team to apply their capabilities to bring jobs and lift the community and the economy in the Northern San Joaquin Valley.” — By Lauren Biron & Pam Kan-Rice, UCANR

  • What Nut Growers Can Do to Combat the New Carpophilus Pest

    It seems we are always on the verge of some type of apocalypse, and with the new carpophilus beetle invading California tree nut orchards, there is cause for concern.  Watch this brief California Ag Network interview with UC Riverside CE Entomology Specialist Houston Wilson to learn more about this pest and how to stop it from damaging your crops.

  • Treatment Options for Management of Walnut Scale and Frosted Scale

    Walnut scale (Figure 1) is an important economic pest of walnuts in California. High populations of walnut scale may affect tree vigor as well as predispose trees to diseases caused by several plant pathogenic fungi and possibly flatheaded borer damage. Historic UC Pest Management Guidelines emphasize the efficacy of insecticide applications at the crawler stage of insect development (late April to mid-May); however, with the introduction of new pest management tools such as insect growth regulators (IGRs), new studies have been conducted to evaluate the efficacy of these products at earlier times during the insect lifecycle. Both walnut scale and frosted scale overwinter as immature nymphs; therefore delayed-dormant application of IGRs has the potential to inhibit maturation and subsequent reproduction of these pests.

    In 2023, UC ANR and UC Berkeley researchers initiated a new collaborative study investigating the efficacy of four products applied at various rates and times (Table 1). Two insect growth regulator products, Esteem® (IRAC Group 7C) and Centaur® (IRAC Group 16), were included in the study, with both delayed-dormant (February 8, 2023) and crawler-stage (April 26, 2023) application timings. Centaur® was also investigated at two rates. Crawler-stage applications of Senstar® (a combination of spirotetramat and pyroxifin) and Assail 20SG® (a neonicitinoid) were also included in the study.

    Delayed dormant IGR applications inhibit maturation of walnut and frosted scale. Delayed-dormant application of Centaur WD® at either 34.5 oz/acre or 46 oz/acre reduced walnut scale survival by 81% of that of untreated control treatment by April. Both Esteem and Centaur reduced populations of mature frosted scale observed in late April by the over 85% of that on untreated trees (Figure 2).

    Crawler populations affected by IGRs and conventional insecticides. All treatments suppressed the rates of crawler emergence over time in comparison to the untreated control (Figure 3); however, delayed dormant applications of both IGR treatments (Centaur® and Esteem®) resulted in the highest suppression of the first-generation curve (Figure 3). Both rates of Centaur® applied during the delayed dormant period resulted in similar suppression of crawler emergence. Crawler stage application of Centaur® at the higher rate resulted in similar levels of crawler suppression as the delayed dormant IGR treatments (Figure 3). Moderate suppression of first-generation crawlers was observed with crawler stage treatments with the low Centaur® rate, Esteem®, and Assail® 30SG (Figure 3). Crawler stage application of Senstar® suppressed first-generation crawler emergence (Figure 3) and resulted in modest suppression (45%) of total crawler populations across the season as compared to the untreated control (Figure 4). All IGR treatments, regardless of the rate or timing, performed similarly with regard to total crawler populations across the season (Figure 4). The range in total crawler suppression across treatments of similar statistical significance was 88.2% (Centaur, 46 oz/acre, delayed dormant) to 54% (Assail, crawler stage), illustrating the variability in crawler counts in the orchard system (Figure 4).

    Summary. Delayed dormant applications of either of the insect growth regular products, Centaur® or Esteem®, offer excellent suppression of walnut scale and frosted scale populations. Delayed dormant applications may offer similar efficacy at lower product rates due to the opportunity to achieve better coverage prior to leaf-out.  Additionally, delayed dormant applications of these products may inhibit maturation of nymphs into adults, thus limiting sexual reproduction and subsequent laying of eggs.

    In prior studies, the efficacy of crawler stage Assail® application became apparent the year following application. Based on this background information, the populations of adult walnut scale will be evaluated across all treatments in April 2024 to fully capture the efficacy of these products over time.

    Additionally, future studies are planned to further determine the value of dormant versus delayed dormant applications of IGR treatments for management of walnut scale. The results of the current study, however, do demonstrate a need for updating the current UC IPM guidelines for management of walnut scale.  To date, the UC IPM guidelines only recommend crawler-stage applications of IGR products while the current study demonstrates the value of IGR applications earlier in the season. — By Elizabeth Fichtner, Mel Thayer, and Robert Van Steenwyk (UCANR)

  • Applying Herbicides Safely to Keep Residue Off of Harvested Almonds

    While there has been research and work underway to move the almond industry to off-ground harvesting such as is done in pistachios, harvested almonds currently spend just enough time in the dust of orchard floors that they can pick up trace residues of herbicides.  Watch this brief interview with UC Cooperative Extension Weed Specialist Brad Hanson as he shares how growers can mitigate this risk with more effective weed management planning and timing of herbicide sprays.

    Please thank this video’s sponsor Suterra for their industry support.

  • How Late is Too Late for Winter NOW Orchard Sanitation?

    The removal of nuts remaining on almond trees from the prior year’s crop is an important winter sanitation practice for the management of navel orangeworm (NOW), Amyelois transitella. Residual nuts are called ‘mummies’ and the process of removing the mummies is referred to as a ‘mummy shake’ because they are mechanically shaken from trees. This practice is conducted during the dormant and delayed dormant season, a time when orchard access may be thwarted by the winter rains.

    Most growers strive to have the mummy shake complete by mid-January when buds are dormant and less likely to abscise from the vibration caused by a mechanical shaker. As the flower buds progress toward bloom, they become more sensitive to the shaker vibration and more likely to abscise. Studies conducted in the 1980s (Sibbett et al.) established that the shaking of mummies by January 31 (approximately 8 days prior to bloom) at a Kern County site did not adversely affect yield; however, the authors cautioned growers of the risk of delaying mummy shakes further, particularly on early blooming varieties and in locations in the southern San Joaquin Valley. Because bud development and bloom date advance with increasing latitude, the potential risk of early and mid-February mummy shakes was investigated by W. Asai (Pomology Consulting, Turlock, CA) in the northern San Joaquin Valley. This work, conducted at a more northern latitude, suggested shakes conducted in early February may not compromise yield.

    The lack of yield detriment attributed to a mummy shake-mediated bud loss may seem counterintuitive; however, simple concepts of tree physiology may help explain this phenomenon. Consider that only approximately 30% of the flowers on a tree set a crop. A given tree does not have the carbohydrate stores needed to set every flower. As a result, the loss of a subset of flower buds may have little effect on overall yield. Naturally, the risk of crop loss increases the closer the shake approaches bloom, and both research groups suggested that mummy shakes be complete prior to the pink bud stage of development.

    Although rainy years make it difficult for growers to access orchards and complete orchard sanitation tasks, the heightened soil moisture adversely affects NOW survival in comparison to dry winters. Mummy nuts on the ground support enhanced NOW survival on a dry orchard floor than on moist soil with winter vegetation in the row middles. The next step in managing overwintering populations of NOW is destruction of mummies by flailing or mowing. Flailing and mowing should be completed by March 1, prior to the emergence of NOW. The emergence profile of NOW varies by location, but the first flight generally starts in late March.

    Growers who have not completed their winter sanitation practices by the end of January should walk their orchards to assess bud development in consideration of a delayed mummy shake. Winter sanitation can reduce now damage by up to 80%, so an early February shake may be worth the effort if orchard access is possible and bud development has not advanced into pink tip. For more information on NOW management, visit www.ipm.ucdavis.edu. — By Cameron Zuber & Elizabeth Fichtner, UCANR

  • Fumigation Considerations Before Replanting an Orchard

    It’s that time of the year when orchards are being pulled and growers begin preparing their soil for future plans.  For growers looking to replant their orchards, watch this brief interview with UC Riverside Nematologist Andreas Westphal as he shares some considerations to take for fumigation when it comes to nematode pressure.

    Please thank this video’s sponsor Suterra for their industry support.

  • New UCCE Advisor to Serve Tree Fruit & Nut Growers in Merced and Madera

    The UC Cooperative Extension is pleased to introduce one of their newest Orchard Crops Advisors, Cameron Zuber, who will be serving tree fruit and nut growers in Merced and Madera Counties. Watch this video interview to get to know Cameron, his history with California agriculture, and what his research and extension focuses are.  Cameron can be reached at (209) 385-7403 or cazuber@ucanr.edu.

    Please thank this video’s sponsor Suterra for their industry support.

  • New Tool to Fight Phytophthora Crown & Root Rot in Almond

    Watch this brief interview with UCCE Farm Advisor Brent Holtz as he talks about a new tool to fight the tree-killing phytophthora crown and root rot in almond, and be sure to read his monthly Almond Tasks column in Pacific Nut Producer Magazine.

    Please thank this video’s sponsor Suterra for their industry support.