Sunshine and clear skies have accelerated bloom progression throughout the state. The early blooming Sonora variety now has 50% of its flowers open and ready for pollination in all regions. In the southern district, Sonora are approaching peak number of viable flowers with over 70% open for pollination. Nonpareil and California type pollinizers have also picked up the pace. In the southern district, Nonpareil have over 50% of their flowers fully open, while the central district is a couple of days behind with over 30% of flowers ready for pollination. The Sacramento Valley is four to five days behind the south with just under 20% of its flowers open for pollination. Monterey is a day behind Nonpareil in all growing regions. Carmel continues to lag four or five days behind Nonpareil, petal tissue continues to emerge from sepals and could catch up in the coming days with some warmer weather. Petal tissue in Butte and Padre continue to slowly emerge and remains 10 days behind the Nonpareil.
Storm systems from over the weekend cleared out early Monday morning leaving two uninterrupted days of sunshine. Bees took this opportunity to fly despite cooler temperatures. Though bees flew for three to four hours on Monday, high winds made tough flying conditions making for poor pollination time. Winds calmed on Tuesday making for the best bee flight day of the year in most regions. Bees were able to fly in good conditions for five hours in most areas.
Growers that have adequate soil drainage were able to make their first treatment for bloom time diseases by ground application. Orchards that were too saturated utilized areal application where available. Wet soil conditions have stopped all but the bare essential orchard work as growers are wary of leaving tire tracks in their orchards.
By Brian Noeller
Photos by Mel Machado, Jereme Fromm, Ernie Reichmuth and Dennis Meinberg
Northern Conditions and Bloom Status
| Variety | Dormant | Green Tip | Pink Bud | Popcorn | Bloom | Petal Fall | Jacket | Out of Jacket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sonora | % | % | 5% | 35% | 56% | 4% | % | % |
| Nonpareil | % | 9% | 39% | 35% | 17% | % | % | % |
| California | % | 11% | 45% | 30% | 14% | % | % | % |
| Carmel | 3% | 30% | 48% | 15% | 4% | % | % | % |
| Peerless | % | % | 5% | 45% | 50% | % | % | % |
| Monterey | % | 24% | 50% | 18% | 8% | % | % | % |
| Butte | 20% | 58% | 22% | % | % | % | % | % |
| Padre | 30% | 55% | 15% | % | % | % | % | % |
Central Conditions and Bloom Status
| Variety | Dormant | Green Tip | Pink Bud | Popcorn | Bloom | Petal Fall | Jacket | Out of Jacket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sonora | % | 1% | 7% | 27% | 60% | 5% | % | % |
| Nonpareil | % | 8% | 25% | 30% | 37% | % | % | % |
| California | % | 10% | 25% | 27% | 38% | % | % | % |
| Carmel | % | 23% | 42% | 21% | 14% | % | % | % |
| Monterey | % | 14% | 25% | 32% | 29% | % | % | % |
| Butte | 1% | 32% | 45% | 12% | 10% | % | % | % |
| Padre | 15% | 40% | 35% | 6% | 4% | % | % | % |
Southern Conditions and Bloom Status
| Variety | Dormant | Green Tip | Pink Bud | Popcorn | Bloom | Petal Fall | Jacket | Out of Jacket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sonora | % | % | 8% | 10% | 74% | 8% | % | % |
| Nonpareil | % | % | 26% | 20% | 54% | % | % | % |
| California | % | 5% | 27% | 16% | 52% | % | % | % |
| Carmel | % | 29% | 51% | 8% | 12% | % | % | % |
| Monterey | % | % | 34% | 25% | 41% | % | % | % |
| Butte | 1% | 16% | 74% | 7% | 2% | % | % | % |
| Padre | 5% | 61% | 34% | % | % | % | % | % |