Yesterday I had the opportunity to share some thoughts about blossoms, bees, pollination and irrigation of almonds with a group of high school students from the Big Valley Christian School Ag Club. They visited me at the Salida Teaching and Research Farm which is the site of the University/Almond Board regional variety trial.

They were attentive and their questions demonstrated that they were engaged and thinking about what I was sharing. They are an impressive group of young people and I was encouraged that we will have bright leaders for the future.

We talked about how almonds need cross pollenation and how vital bees are for, not only almonds, but all of agriculture. It was a good time for them to observe the various stages of bloom.

I showed them the infrastructure that is in place for irrigation. Currently the only source of water is a well. Utilizing surface water from the canal which borders the orchard would lower pumping costs and help preserve the aquifer. I challenged them to tackle the question of what needs to be done to utilize water from the district canal for irrigating the orchard.

Will They or Won't They?

Will these nutlets split their jacket?  Often, even non-pollenated flowers will fill the jackets to this point. They will either split the jacket and continue to grow, or they will stop at this point and, in a few days, fall off.

It is too soon to evaluate the crop, although it is clear that the Nonpareil and any early blooming varieties were adversely impacted by the rain.

Half Dome, Yosemite

On a clear day with the right light one can see Half Dome at the head of Yosemite Valley from some locations in the Central Valley. The top of Half Dome stands at 8800 feet.  The top of El Capitan (7570 feet) can also be seen in this photograph rising just above the foothills to the left of Half Dome, directly above the truck exhaust pipe. And yes, the snow pack looks good this year.

Stepping up to the Challenge

Foothill Orchard Wednesday 2/15/2017

Yours truly has served on the Production Research Committee of the Almond Board of California since some time in the 1980's. I have always been proud of the commitment our industry has made to discovering the most efficient methods of farming and educating the nearly 7 thousand almond growers in the state of the latest information.

As the industry has grown, and the demand for resources within the state have grown, the challenges continue. Here is a link to an important announcement from the Almond Board of a continuing and growing commitment to being responsible farmers.

Also a couple pictures of the bloom status.

Almond Board of California commits big bucks to innovation fueled future

Valley Orchard Thursday 2/16/2017

Mummies swept to the middle

Mummy removal has been a major activity over the last 6 weeks when the weather has allowed. After being put on the ground we sweep the mummies to the middles so they can be chopped up by the mower.

Mowed Middle with chopped Mummies

In this block we are only mowing every other middle. This preserves some forage for the bees that are being placed in the orchard. Although it just looks green, within the vegetation is blooming chickweed and shepherds purse.

We want to do all we can to have healthy bees!

Valve controller box with 12 valves. Note the 8 risers at the head of each row 

Today I attended a field demonstration of "Variable Rate Drip Irrigation". VRDI is being developed by an Israeli company (Netafim) who are major suppliers of drip irrigation equipment around the world. They have been collaborating with E.&J. Gallo Winery to test the technology in vineyards. Our interest was to determine if this would be applicable to growing almonds.

Bundle of tubing along vine row.

 The concept is to irrigate small management areas, as small as 30 X 30 meters. Satellite imagery and ET (EvapoTranspiration) data are used to determine the appropriate amount of water to apply to each area. Soil moisture sensors and leaf stem water potential (aka pressure bomb) readings provide backup assurance that correct amounts are being applied.

The most challenging aspect is integrating the data collected and using the software to determine amounts to apply and then controlling the valve system.

In just one season, the vineyard managers were able to achieve much greater uniformity of canopy growth and uniformity of yields and juice quality. The results are very encouraging to pursue the application of this new approach to irrigation. I can see that major changes are coming to how we manage water. As dramatic as the changes over the last recent decades have been with the move to micro irrigation, I think the changes will be just as significant in the coming years.

 28 April 2016
Yesterday afternoon the foothills experienced some thundershowers and hail. Valley locations around Modesto mostly had less than 1/10 of an inch. East of Waterford, some areas had well over an inch of rain.

The bruising caused by hail has caused some nuts to exude gum. Slicing with my knife reveals that the damage is very shallow in the hull. I think the nuts will be all right and make it to maturity.

Vineyards and Almonds

April 16, 2016

Such a pretty view in the lower foothills near Oakdale that I had to stop and capture it in a picture.

 On the weekend of April 10 we received about 1.5 inches of rain. No one is complaining because every drop of water is counted as a blessing.  However, warm spring rains have their consequences. In mature orchards I am seeing a lot of spur die back. This is probably caused by Brown Rot fungus (Monilinia spp.) or Botrytis spp.

More rain is predicted for the coming weekend and possibly on and off through next week so in many orchards fungicides are being applied.

Most varieties have completed bloom and I've even seen a few jackets splitting. The bees are being removed to go work other crops that are just entering their bloom time.

 20 February 2016

Well, that was fast! Bloom is winding up and petal fall is underway. The warmer-than-average temperatures during bloom created a shorter-than-average bloom.

Friday 12 Feb 2016

The recent warm weather, low 70's, has been ideal for the rapid development of bloom. These pictures were taken 3 days apart at the same orchard.

Generally, the foothill orchards are 2 or 3 days ahead of the flat land orchards.

Monday 15 Feb 2016