nov-dec-2020

IN YOUR ORCHARD TIME TO CONSIDER Chilling units are finally starting to accumulate. With dormant trees, cooler temperatures and shorter days, there is more time for needed maintenance and planning along with some field work. The following are some practices for your consideration. Planning Careful planning and execution will be critical for success in what could be a challenging growing season in 2021 due to concerns, largely, for surface water availability and market/price conditions. Now is the time to set up orchard operations to deliver the maximum net grower return per acre that field and market conditions allow. (It’s net grower return per acre, not yield per acre that is the measure of economic success in almond production.) Prioritize inputs (water, fertilizers, pesticides, etc.) based on a positive return on investment for the coming years. Quality irrigation water is a critical priority and this year looks to be a budget wild card with the La Niña forecast unchanged as of November 12. Winter is a good time to line up good, strong hives for bloom, if this hasn’t been done already. A contract stating the minimum average number of frames of bees/hive is strongly recommended. Strong hives containing eight or more frames covered on both sides with bees deliver pollination service significantly better than weaker hives. For example, hives with eight or more frames covered on both sides with bees collected 300 percent more pollen than hives with four to five frames covered with bees in UC research. Those same UC researchers concluded that hives containing less than three frames covered with bees are “of no practical value to almond growers for pollinization purposes.” Pest Control A dormant spray can help manage or control two significant pests of almond — scale and almond scab. Severe San Jose scale infestation can kill wood and so reduce yield; severe scab infection can defoliate trees in the summer, reducing return bloom, yield and tree health. The dormant season is an excellent time for scale control and scab management where needed. Careful spur sampling and analysis provides the information needed to make a treatment decision. Economic thresholds have been developed to aide in the decision making. Be careful when using oil in a La Niña dormant season. Dormant treatments for both scale and/or scab benefit from or require horticultural oil in the tank mix. Oil is a smothering agent and a deposition aide and so adds significant value 4 4 A L M O N D F A C T S