Cooler and clear weather over the weekend slowed bloom progression as flowers continue to shed petals. Calm winds combined with cooler temperatures delayed petal shedding throughout the state. Observers are reporting that all varieties, except for the late blooming Padre, have passed peak bloom and are increasingly moving toward the petal fall and jacket stages. Just under one third of Nonpareil flowers remain intact while one quarter of the flowers have no petals remaining. California type pollinizers remain well overlapped with the remaining Nonpareil bloom.
Monterey continue to trend a day behind Nonpareil while Carmel remain two or three days behind. Butte achieved peak numbers of open flowers in all regions over the weekend and Padre is expected to reach that milestone in the coming days. Observers have noted that the southern region has remained two or three days ahead of the central region and a day or two ahead of the north. Orchards in heavier soils in the west valley continue to trail orchards on sandier ground in the east. Overnight lows in the mid 30s gave way to daytime highs in the upper 50s and low 60s throughout the state. Stormy weather has dissipated and very few clouds were observed through the weekend. Winds were relatively calm and bees were able to average 6 hours of strong activity each day, Friday through Sunday, in the central and northern regions. Conditions in the southern region, though clear, remained cooler through most of the weekend and bees were only able to average 4 hours of mediocre activity each day through the weekend.
Growers took advantage of the clear, calm weather to continue making their second round of fungicides. Most growers were able to make any applications they needed over the weekend. After fungicides were applied, herbicide applications that had been delayed due to weather could resume. Growers that have experienced blown over trees have been working hard to remove them from their orchards.
By Brian Noeller
Photos by Jereme Fromm, Dennis Meinberg, Ernie Reichmuth and Matthew Willson
Northern Conditions and Bloom Status
| Variety | Dormant | Green Tip | Pink Bud | Popcorn | Bloom | Petal Fall | Jacket | Out of Jacket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sonora | % | % | % | % | 6% | 52% | 42% | % |
| Nonpareil | % | % | % | % | 20% | 58% | 22% | % |
| California | % | % | % | % | 18% | 58% | 24% | % |
| Carmel | % | % | % | % | 31% | 51% | 18% | % |
| Peerless | % | % | % | % | 5% | 40% | 55% | % |
| Monterey | % | % | % | % | 28% | 53% | 19% | % |
| Butte | % | % | % | 2% | 68% | 26% | 4% | % |
| Padre | % | % | % | 8% | 68% | 22% | 2% | % |
Central Conditions and Bloom Status
| Variety | Dormant | Green Tip | Pink Bud | Popcorn | Bloom | Petal Fall | Jacket | Out of Jacket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sonora | % | % | % | % | 23% | 37% | 40% | % |
| Nonpareil | % | % | % | % | 37% | 28% | 35% | % |
| California | % | % | % | % | 39% | 23% | 38% | % |
| Carmel | % | % | % | % | 66% | 21% | 13% | % |
| Monterey | % | % | % | % | 46% | 34% | 20% | % |
| Butte | % | % | % | 5% | 83% | 10% | 2% | % |
| Padre | % | % | 3% | 19% | 68% | 10% | % | % |
Southern Conditions and Bloom Status
| Variety | Dormant | Green Tip | Pink Bud | Popcorn | Bloom | Petal Fall | Jacket | Out of Jacket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sonora | % | % | % | % | % | 59% | 41% | % |
| Nonpareil | % | % | % | % | 26% | 45% | 29% | % |
| California | % | % | % | % | 21% | 37% | 42% | % |
| Carmel | % | % | % | % | 65% | 25% | 10% | % |
| Monterey | % | % | % | % | 44% | 32% | 24% | % |
| Butte | % | % | % | 4% | 76% | 18% | 2% | % |
| Padre | % | % | 5% | 21% | 74% | % | % | % |