Almond Crack-out Today Helps Growers with Their IPM Planning for Tomorrow

About 200 almonds are ready to be cracked open.

NOW bored into this hard shell nut.

 Crack, crack, crack…

One by one a pile of fresh almonds pulled from the floor of Valley orchards were cracked by field scout Jenna Horine. As the shells piled up, Jenna carefully examined each one and occasionally jotted down a few notes.

Each fall, Jenna embarks on this laborious, but important task for almond growers participating in the San Joaquin Sustainable Farming Project. Called crack- out, this tedious process of checking hundreds of nut samples collected from orchards in the program during the summer harvest helps determine pest management activities next year.

Bugs damaged this almond kernel.

Jenna is looking for signs of damage to the almond kernels caused by pests such as navel orangeworm (NOW), ants and peach twig borer (PTB). Sometimes, the evaluation can be tricky. Jenna points out University of California Integrated Pest Management guidelines point out that NOW and PTB often infest the same nuts. NOW bores into the nut while PTB doesn’t. As a result, NOW feeding on the kernel will mask that of the PTB.

Once Jenna is finished with the crack-out, each grower is given a record of her findings. The results also are a good way for growers to compare information with the grade sheet from the processor.

Overall, the early results indicate the nuts are coming out clean. “So far everyone did pretty well. Some people though had NOW damage,” Jenna says.

For UC IPM advisors, almond crack-out is a practice that all almond growers should embrace. It’s a lot of work, but it will pay off in the long run.

Jenna shows how NOW ate the whole nut.

Meanwhile, Jenna reminds us that growers aren’t kicking back after the harvest. This is an important IPM stage for evaluation and planning for the next season. Contrary to the disclaimers made by investment advisors, past performance can be a predictor of future results. So growers should check their monitoring records from this season and start preparing for dormant season activities.

Branch has shot hole borer damage.

Growers should be busy monitoring for weeds and almond diseases. And we can’t stress it enough: they need to remember orchard sanitation is very important, especially getting rid of those mummy nuts.

Here are a few some tips from UC IPM:

•  Look for nuts or leaves stuck in trees well after harvest. This indicates hull rot.
• Monitor for rust lesions. If you find them, apply zinc sulfate to reduce overwintering leaves.
• After the fall rains start, monitor for shot hole lesions with fruiting structures. Treat according to UC IPM guidelines.
• Survey and record results on weeds. If you plan to use a preemergence herbicide in rows, be sure to time it properly. 
  

  

  Alamond leaf rust. (UC IPM photos)

  

  Evidence of hull rot damage.

Yes, a farmer’s job is never done.

Alfalfa Field Rally Takes to the Sky to Shed Light on Farming, Central Valley Water Issue

Farmers and their supporters stage a water a rally. (Calif. Ag Today photo)

It’s tough to bring some 200 farmers together in the middle of a green alfalfa field on a sun-drenched day during the harvest season, especially for a photo shoot complete with speeches.

But that’s what happened recently in a field just west of Firebaugh. That’s the power of water, that valuable and recently diminishing commodity that is the life-blood of farmers and the crops they grow.

Field scout Carlos Silva joined the crowd on October 3 in an event organized by Steve Malanca, general manager of Thomason Tractor Co. in Firebaugh with the help of the Westlands Water District. The event demonstrated the economic impact to alfalfa as well as farming as a whole if there isn’t enough water, Carlos reports.

A helicopter took an aerial photos and a video of the group.

To illustrate the point, a helicopter hovered over the gathering for an aerial photo and video that organizers hope – with the help of the Firebaugh High FFA – will go viral over the Internet to show the value of water to San Joaquin Valley agriculture and the local and state economy.

An alfalfa field near Firebaugh served as the rally backdrop.

It was an impressive showing, Carlos says, likening it to a community rally combined with a farm equipment trade show. Yes, there were tractors, haulers, trucks, harvesters and even cows – the No. 1 consumer of alfalfa – spread across the field as farmers, Firebaugh FFA students and ag representatives held banners and smiled at the helicopter film crew. We’ll let you know when the video is posted. When it’s out be sure to look for Carlos in the crowd.

Of course, everyone knows we’ve had two dry years. This year, farmers on the west side of the Valley saw their water allocations from the Westland Water District dwindle to 20 percent. Officials predict farmers could face a zero allotment if there’s another dry winter and spring.

Farm equipment and even some cows were on display.

In the coming months, farmers will be facing some tough decisions. November and December is when growers will be making their plans for the 2014 season. Unless we have some Noah’s Arc-like weather, those plans will have to take in to account getting even less water next year.

No one is looking forward to that.

To put everything in perspective, the blog California Ag Today quoted Firebaugh City Manager Ken McDonald telling the rally: “There is no doubt that Firebaugh is one small part of this big regional effort and without water and without farming, Firebaugh wouldn’t be in existence.” Neither would farms.

 

When Is It Time to Harvest? After 259,200 minutes

 259,200 minutes, 259,200 moments so dear. 259,200 minutes – how do you measure a half-year in cotton. In seedlings, in squares, in bolls, in bales of fiber. In 290,200 minutes – how do you measure a half-year in the life of cotton.

How about harvest? How can you measure the life of cotton? How about harvest?

Cotton seedling in the spring.

Then comes the square.

Yes indeed -- with apologies to the Broadway musical Rent some 259,200 minutes, or 180 days, have passed since San Joaquin Valley growers planted their first cotton seeds. And, as field scout Carlos Silva reports, harvest time has now arrived. In the coming weeks, we’ll see more and more harvesters click-clacking away in the fields, plucking puffy white fiber from the cotton plants.

 

Cotton bolls in the summer.

Bales of cotton after fiber is ginned.

I n fact, a few growers even got a September morning start on cotton picking, firing up their harvesters exactly a week ago. By the end of the week, Carlos saw a few fields already picked and the dried plants cut down in preparation for plow down.

It looks like a fairly early harvest for some growers, Carlos says. To recap: Cotton is usually planted in April and it takes about 180 to 200 days to reach full maturity and become ready for harvest in October.

Of course, this October harvest-fest varies from area to area and from field to field. While some growers started harvesting on September 30, others are still waiting for their defoliated field to dry up enough for picking. Carlos points out one grower is just starting to defoliate now.

 

Remember, defoliation helps the mature bolls open fully and the lint can get freed from the leaves. This process helps the harvesters pick the cotton cleanly off the plants. Usually cotton is ready for harvest about one to two weeks after defoliants are applied.

Valley growers are already harvesting their cotton.

This season, an estimated 92,000 acres of acala/upland cotton are predicted to be harvested in California, down 35 percent from 2012, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. About 310,000 bales are expected to be produced, a 39 percent decline from last year.

 For high-quality pima cotton, bale production is predicted to drop 20 percent to 600,000 bales. The forecast for harvested acreage is 186,000 acres, down 17 percent from 2012.

Buses again will take visitors to the cotton fields this year.

Speaking of harvest, the Sustainable Cotton Project’s annual Cotton Tour remains popular as ever. While it is booked up right now, you can still get on the waiting list for this popular free event, which provide a unique opportunity to get an inside look at cotton production – from the field to the gin. Set for Tuesday, October 29, from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., the tour begins at the Best Western Apricot Inn at Interstate 5 and West Panoche Road, about 23 miles southwest of Firebaugh. For more information, go to the Sustainable Cotton Project website.

Alfalfa Growers Prepare to Wrap Up 2013 Season

 As we head into October and cooler fall weather, alfalfa growers are wrapping the year with the final cutting of the season.

Some growers are irrigating their alfalfa fields 1 more time.

Some are looking to squeeze in one more cutting. Field scout Carlos Silva reports seeing a few growers irrigating their alfalfa field, trying to coax more growth for another cutting this fall. If successful, that could bring some extra money for the year.

This year, about 900,000 acres of alfalfa was projected to be harvested across the state, down 50,000 acres from 2012, according to the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service in California. Production is forecast at 6.3 million tons, down 4 percent from 2012. But yield per acre is projected at 3.13 tons an acre this year compared to 3.01 tons in 2012.

Overall, California produces roughly 9 percent of the nation’s alfalfa hay with an annual value of nearly $1 billion. Fresno and Merced counties are among the top producing counties. 

Alfalfa is fetching an average of $200 a ton this season.

So far, farmers are getting about the same price per ton – an average of $200 – as in 2012, according to Friday’s USDA California Hay Report. Premium quality is selling for $230 a ton while the contract price for supreme is $285 a ton. Hey, doesn’t this sound like we’re talking about gasoline for cars rather than forage for cattle.

Few outside the ag community probably know there are different grades of alfalfa – just like a lot of commodities such as cotton and almonds.

Over the years, there has been talk about some growers opting for quality over yield. They have planted dormant alfalfa varieties in the northern San Joaquin Valley and Sacramento Valley. These varieties are normally grown in places like Minnesota – a state known for ice fishing and International Falls, a city that averages 15 degrees in January.

Why go dormant? Well, dairy ranchers want higher quality feed for their cows.

University of California extension advisor and alfalfa expert Dan Putman says the trade-off with dormant varieties is yield – as much as 1 to 2½ tons per acre. The gamble pays off in down years for prices, meaning premiums are bigger for higher quality alfalfa.

Experts say planting dormant varieties could make sense for growers that are targeting the dairy industry. In the end, of course, it all boils down to commodity prices.

Cotton plants are starting to dry out.

In the meantime, Carlos reports most cotton growers have finished defoliating their fields. The cotton plants are drying up nicely, showing rich, white puffy lint. Growers are moving ahead with their harvesting plans. Soon, we’ll be hearing those cotton harvesters humming along in the fields.