This report covers conditions and observations made on Tuesday, February 24, 2015.

Taken in the Salida area, from top to bottom the photos for today’s report show the lack of available flowers and subsequent greening in an Independence orchard, the later stages of bloom in a row of Fritz trees, and irrigation in an area that received little to no moisture from last weekend’s storm.

Clear skies and low wind speeds gave bees good opportunity to pollinate remaining flowers. Although parts of Merced County reached a low of 33 degrees, low temperatures for most of the Northern San Joaquin Valley hovered around 36 degrees. As the sun emerged, temperatures quickly rose to a high of 66 degrees. These conditions provided bees with the opportunity to put in six hours of good activity.

Petal fall has continued its slow progression due to the lower wind conditions. The warm temperatures are pushing the progression from bloom to nutlet, as more of the Nonpareil and California varieties are progressing into the jacket stage. Nutlets are continuing to emerge in the Sonora variety, as the warmer temperatures encourage the swelling of nutlets.

As illustrated in today’s third image, growers with water available are beginning to irrigate their crop as needed. Irrigations are somewhat regionalized, as some areas received significantly more moisture than others from last weekend’s rain.