Growing the Valley

Phytophthora infections have become more common in pistachio. Alejandro Hernandez covers the biology of this disease, as well as his research on rootstock susceptibility and the efficacy of new fungicides. Please note that some of these fungicides are not registered for use in pistachio.Episode transcriptMention of a pesticide does not constitute a pesticide recommendation, and mention of specific trade names does not constitute an endorsement. Always follow the pesticide label. Find out more at ipm.ucanr.edu The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed are the speaker’s own and do not represent the views, thoughts, and opinions of the University of California. The material and information presented here is for general information purposes only. The "University of California" name and all forms and abbreviations are the property of its owner, and its use does not imply endorsement of or opposition to any specific organization, product, or service.Follow us on Twitter! @SacOrchards and @SJVtandvThank you to the Almond, Pistachio, Prune, and Walnut Boards of California for their kind donations. Thank you to Muriel Gordon for the music.

Fruit removal is a serious issue in table olive production, namely because the fruit are harvested before they are ripe. ACC, an ethylene precursor, has the potential to improve fruit removal (please note that the commercial product is not registered in olives yet and cannot legally be used). Becky Wheeler-Dykes, an advisor in Glenn, Colusa, and Tehama Counties, has been examining its efficacy in olives with a team of researchers at UC Davis. She shares some preliminary, and promising results in this week’s episode.Episode transcriptMention of a pesticide does not constitute a pesticide recommendation, and mention of specific trade names does not constitute an endorsement. Always follow the pesticide label. Find out more at ipm.ucanr.eduThe views, thoughts, and opinions expressed are the speaker’s own and do not represent the views, thoughts, and opinions of the University of California. The material and information presented here is for general information purposes only. The "University of California" name and all forms and abbreviations are the property of its owner, and its use does not imply endorsement of or opposition to any specific organization, product, or service.Follow us on Twitter! @SacOrchards and @SJVtandvThank you to the Almond, Pistachio, Prune, and Walnut Boards of California for their kind donations. Thank you to Muriel Gordon for the music.

Anyone who has an irrigation system knows that it needs to be maintained for peak performance. Anyone who has an irrigation system also knows that almost everything seems to be more important in the moment than flushing those lines or checking pressures. A distribution uniformity test is a good way to assess the health of your irrigation system, but it isn’t always easy to figure out if the cost of making these fixes, particularly big fixes, will pencil out. CURES got a grant a few years back to develop a tool to estimate the return on investment for making fixes to a system. Inge Bisconer and Parry Klassen share how the tool works and what spurred them to develop it in this week’s episode. Episode transcriptThe views, thoughts, and opinions expressed are the speaker’s own and do not represent the views, thoughts, and opinions of the University of California. The material and information presented here is for general information purposes only. The "University of California" name and all forms and abbreviations are the property of its owner and its use does not imply endorsement of or opposition to any specific organization, product, or service.Follow us on Twitter! @SacOrchards and @SJVtandvThank you to the Almond, Pistachio, Prune, and Walnut Boards of California for their kind donations. Thank you to Muriel Gordon for the music.Come to an upcoming extension meeting!Sacramento Valley The Nickels Field Day is on Tuesday May 19 San Joaquin Valley (scroll to the bottom)

In 2026 the Sacramento Valley prune industry is experiencing high fruit sets, high GDH 30, and a high cost of fruit thinning because of very diesel prices. Jaime Ott (UCCE Tehama), Domena Agyeman (UCCE Butte), and Franz Niederholzer (UCCE Colusa) break down prune grower crop management considerations given this tricky set of circumstances. Upcoming Orchard Meetings: The Almond Board of California also has four upcoming IPM meeting, tackling rodents, red leaf blotch, Carpophilus and other pests:Bakersfield: Thursday, April 30 Wednesday, June 16, if you’re an almond variety nerd like me you can’t miss the Almond Board’s Crackout Event at Merced CollegeIn the Sacramento Valley: Nickels Field Day is Tuesday, May 19 in ArbuckleI have two almond variety meetings at the Chico State Farm in June. Thursday June 11 and Thursday, June 25th. The Third Thursday on July 16 will be in Yuba City and cover Walnut MoldThe Third Thursday on August 20 will be in Orland and tackle labor economicsFollowing  a harvest season hiatus, there will be a Third Thursday on November 19 in Yuba City recapping 2026’s IPM challenges and lessonsThe views, thoughts, and opinions expressed are the speaker’s own and do not represent the views, thoughts, and opinions of the University of California. The material and information presented here is for general information purposes only. The "University of California" name and all forms and abbreviations are the property of its owner and its use does not imply endorsement of or opposition to any specific organization, product, or service.Follow us on Twitter! @SacOrchards and @SJVtandvThank you to the Almond, Pistachio, Prune, and Walnut Boards of California for their kind donations. Thank you to Muriel Gordon for the music. The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed are the speaker’s own and do not represent the views, thoughts, and opinions of the University of California. The material and information presented here is for general information purposes only. The "University of California" name and all forms and abbreviations are the property of its owner and its use does not imply endorsement of or opposition to any specific organization, product, or service.Follow us on Twitter! @SacOrchards and @SJVtandvThank you to the Almond, Pistachio, Prune, and Walnut Boards of California for their kind donations. Thank you to Muriel Gordon for the music.‍ ‍

The 3rd Generation RAVT recently wrapped up, and Luke, Phoebe, and Roger sit down one final time to discuss the findings. While the overall results are discussed, they also discuss each of the strengths and weaknesses of the 13 remaining varieties. It’s a long episode, check out the transcript if you are interested in something specific to get the timestamp.Episode transcriptThe views, thoughts, and opinions expressed are the speaker’s own and do not represent the views, thoughts, and opinions of the University of California. The material and information presented here is for general information purposes only. The "University of California" name and all forms and abbreviations are the property of its owner and its use does not imply endorsement of or opposition to any specific organization, product, or service.Follow us on Twitter! @SacOrchards and @SJVtandvThank you to the Almond, Pistachio, Prune, and Walnut Boards of California for their kind donations. Thank you to Muriel Gordon for the music.Come to an upcoming extension meeting!Sacramento Valley The Nickels Field Day is on Tuesday May 19 San Joaquin Valley (scroll to the bottom)