nov-dec-2020

ANNUAL GROWERS MEETING 2020 Crop Quality; Future Challenges The annual meeting virtual Grower Seminar delivered a full package for growers to think about as they plan for their 2021 crop. It began with good news about the 2020 almond harvest, then strong encouragement to adopt Integrated Pest Management practices where possible, and the evolving consumer attitudes and government policies regarding growers’ use of pesticides. Changing consumer attitudes and tightening government regulations are expected to continue to drive changes in grower practices, the panelists agreed. Good Quality Crop The 2020 almond crop is getting a good grade from Mel Machado, Vice President of Member Relations for Blue Diamond Growers . Reviewing the harvest, he reported, “Looking at Nonpareil meats, the quality is quite good this year. I consider a low reject year a good quality year. This year, we are running right at 86 percent of deliveries qualifying for the High-Quality Premiums.” However, the harvest season is far from over. Machado added that while we are done in the field, there are still a lot of Nonpareils in stockpile. “We will be receiving product from stockpiles well into January. In the case of inshell, rejects are even lower. About 90 percent are qualifying for the High-Quality Inshell Program. We are seeing some really good quality come in.” With high-quality inshell in demand, Machado noted that Blue Diamond field staff work closely with grower- owners to make sure that their inshell deliveries qualify for the premium program. In most years, growers in the southern San Joaquin Valley face bigger challenges from rejects than growers in the central and northern districts, largely due to damage by Navel Orange Worm (NOW), said Machado. “But this year, the reject level in the south has been less than in the past. It’s down to one-and-half percent on average. That is something to be proud of.” This year, an analysis requested by growers of their deliveries revealed a one-percent reject level, but, interestingly, the rejects were due to a variety of issues, not just NOW. For many years, NOW was blamed for about 80 percent of the reject damage, but this year it is just about one-third. Other causes have appeared most notably from ants. Brown spot has also become an increasing challenge. While brown spot is usually associated with feeding by plant bugs, either Leaf-footed Plant Big or Stink Bugs, that is being questioned and work is underway to track down other causes. In many cases brown spot is also associated with gum, which is thought to be the result of late season feeding by plant bugs. However, gum is frequently observed without any apparent damage from plant bugs and other causes may be at play. Heat and wind complicated harvest, Machado said. Hull split occurred during a hot spell resulting in some withered kernels in water-stressed orchards and high winds shook pollinators onto Nonpareil drying on the ground. Withered nuts do not process well, resulting in an inferior product, Machado explained. Questions arose over the effect of California’s record-setting fires and long periods of smoke blanketing the almond producing region. Machado reported that the smoke did not affect the trees or nuts except to block the sun during harvest, lengthening the time it took for nuts to dry. In some cases, nuts remained on the ground for as long as two to four weeks, which hindered growers’ ability to irrigate. The high humidity caused hull rot, which not only damages trees but can also darken kernels. “But this year we have not seen any degradation of kernel quality due to hull rot,” Machado reported. Big Year for Stockpiling The large 2020 crop sent a large portion into stockpile. “Stockpiling is a way of life for growers in the southern 2 0 A L M O N D F A C T S