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Owen Taylor, Editor (888-327-6329)
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OVERVIEW
Hull split sprays were expected to start on a limited basis in the San Joaquin Valley as this week gets underway.
Excessive heat developed over the last several days. As we closed this issue on Saturday morning, the forecast in Bakersfield called for 107 for highs on both Sunday and Monday (6/28-29).
CROP REPORTS
Tony Touma, PCA, Bio Ag Consulting, Bakersfield: "We’ll start hull split sprays next week. Very few fields are right at 1% right now (6/26), but we expect that a lot of growers will be spraying next week with a NOW material and a miticide. We always include a miticide."
Franz Niederholzer, UC Farm Advisor, Sutter/Yuba Counties: "We’re perched on the edge today (6/26) of our first significant heat wave. It was 100 on Wednesday and is suppose to be 100-plus on Saturday. Otherwise, not much has changed in the last week except for the fact that the unseasonably cool weather is behind us and summer has arrived in the Sacramento Valley. Hull split is still a ways off. Growers are putting on water and doing the regular practices."
Walt Bentley, IPM Entomologist, Kearney Research Center: "Certainly, on the south end of the valley they’re probably seeing hull split right now (6/26) on the edge of orchards. I didn’t notice any of that this week when we were conducting meetings in orchards north of Sacramento, but it should come pretty quickly up there as we get into the first week of July. In this area we’re just picking up our second twig borer flight, and on the south end of the SJV they’re beginning to see oviposition on the NOW traps, indicating that the next generation is just beginning. It looks like, at least in the majority of the area, that those 2 pests are going to coincide with the development of hull split and the susceptibility of the nut. If a treatment is needed, it would be at the initiation of the first 1% to 5% of hull split. If you’ve had an abundant number of mummies that remained during the winter, make a treatment at hull split.
"We’re looking at the possibility of record 100-plus temperatures over the next 2 to 3 days, and that will certainly accentuate the splitting process. If you’re going by ground, make sure your equipment is ready to go. At our meetings in the Sacramento Valley this week, Franz Niederholzer (UC Farm Advisor, Sutter/Yuba Counties) made a great presentation on correct spray-equipment calibration and the importance of gallonage under hot conditions. A lot of product never hits the target, given the height of the tree, if you’re using 50 gallons/acre of water or less and if you’re spraying during the day and temperatures are high. It’s lost to evaporation. Franz also used surveyor’s tape tied near the nozzles of air-carrier sprayers as a way to show movement. He ran the sprayer at full speed with just the air coming out, and the tape nicely showed air-flow movement.
"I think most everyone knows this, but it’s worth repeating: if you’re applying a pyrethroid at hull split, include a miticide. Work with your pest control advisor in terms of miticide selection. Even some of the newer miticides aren’t completely selective. Certain chemistry may not be directly toxic to predators but could affect predators’ reproduction once they consume treated mites. Again, discuss this with your PCA."
Robert L. Gaddie, Crop Production Consultant, Bakersfield: "We’re approaching hull split. I found it in an orchard east of McFarland on Wednesday. This is an orchard up on the hills and not on deep soils, so hulls tend to split early. But I expect to see hull split here on the valley floor next week, and we’ll start our hull split sprays on the soft shells next week. We’re making a field-by-field decision about miticides. If it looks like the mites could get out of control before the end of harvest, we’ll include a miticide. If populations are extremely light, we’ll include 2% oil with the spray, which should give us enough contact activity to keep them down through harvest."
Chris Morgner, PCA, Agri-Valley Consulting, Merced: "We’re progressing. The Nonpareils are moving rapidly to hull split. We’re getting ready to put on hull split sprays and actually scheduled some for today (6/26). We’ll be going with them on a wider basis next week. This is about a normal time for us to begin treatments. Scheduling at this point depends partly on the ranch and soil types. Because of the way the soils hold water, some split a little later, which we know from experience, and in those cases we probably won’t spray until after the Fourth of July. But I expect that 75% of our Nonpareils will be sprayed before the Fourth. On 3 blocks we’ll include a miticide. Most of the rest either don’t have any mites or numbers are low. Overall, we’re not having any trouble with mites."
David A. Doll, Pomology Farm Advisor, Merced County: "Irrigation and weed control are the main focus right now. We’re about to get into 100-degree weather in Merced County, so we need to monitor for pests. With this heat, we might see spider mites flare up. As we move into this spell of excessive heat, we also need to keep in mind how much water-holding capacity we have in soils and how trees use it. It’s easy to over water some soils and move part of that below the area in the soil profile where trees actually use it.
"In the northern part of the county we tend to have sandier soils that only hold 0.6 to 0.8 inches of water per rooting foot compared to soils in other parts of the county that hold more. A clay loam, for example, can hold up to 2 inches per rooting foot. So, on the sandier soils we have to water more frequently with somewhat less water to maintain moisture and keep up with the tree’s needs. You can apply what you think is a 7-day supply of water in one big shot in sandier soils and really only have about a 5-day supply. Because of the limited holding capacity and the fact that you’re putting on so much water, some of it moves below that 3 to 4 feet of the main rooting area.
"There’s a 40/30/20/10 pattern in the root system’s ability to use water. The top foot of the root zone uses 40% of the water, the second uses about 30%, while the third and fourth foot use 20% and 10%, respectively. If you’re putting on so much water that it moves below that 4-foot level, it’s pretty much wasted."
OTHER CROPS
Sara Savary, PCA Crop Care Associates, Fresno: "We don’t have a light walnut crop this year, but it won’t be a real heavy one, either. Some salty water has had to be used, and that probably will have an effect."
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