The Pineapple Express rolled into the Central Valley
at the end of last week, delivering warm rain to our region.
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| Variable weather hit almonds, including a hard freeze. |
Like
we mentioned last month, this wet stuff during the late winter and early spring
continues tobewitch almond growers who are still trying to assess any damage
from the freezing weather in February.
David Doll, a UC Cooperative Extension pomologist
and almond expert in Merced County, says the April showers may prompt almond
growers to make another fungicide application.
“If
a spray has not been made within the last seven to 10 days, consider making a
spray with a rotating chemistry to reduce the occurrence of the spring time
diseases of Anthracnose, scab and shot-hole. If there is a history of bacterial
spot, a copper-manzate application should be considered,” Doll wrote in a
recent Almond Doctor online column.
So far this season, Doll has observed cases of leaf lesions
caused by bacteria. This condition, which is evident by a yellow halo on the
leaf, could be compounded by more rain. Trees eventually recover after losing
some leaves.
 |
| Almond growers need to protect trees from scale. |
On the pest front, Doll recommends growers putting
out traps and monitoring for navel orangeworm (NOW). Orchards with a lot of mummy nuts are likely
to need treating for NOW in the spring. Those growers who did a good job with
orchard sanitation “are not going to have much value in a spring spray,” Doll
told growers attending a recent almond field day.
Meanwhile
in the fields, field scout Damien Jelen says the rain has slowed some cotton
planting. A lot depends on the soil. Some soil will dry faster and allow
growers to get back into the field and finish planting.
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| Alfalfa growers are finishing the first cutting of the season. |
In alfalfa, growers have completed[ their first cutting. Now, Damien says, they are waiting for the cut alfalfa to
dry more on the ground before baling the crop.
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