Growing the Valley

Facing tightening SGMA regulations and the specter of future droughts, how should we be designing the almond orchard of the future? On the podcast, Franz Niederholzer discusses his idea of a test alm…

Researchers have been conducting almond irrigation and other studies at the Nickels Soil Lab in Arbuckle, CA for over 50 years! On the podcast, Franz Niederholzer revisited research on early microirr…

Environmental bud failure showed up in almonds in a big way in 2025. From a subtle delay of leafing in parts of Nonpareil canopies throughout the Central Valley to some orchards in the northern Sacra…

If you work in the almond industry, you likely know non-infectious bud failure (NBF) is bad news. However, do you understand why NBF happens, and that we’re likely to see it on future almond varietie…

Regenerative agriculture is currently all the rage these days in some circles. With a broad range of practices that can be classified as regenerative, it still can feel like a mushy term that means …

Walnut scale is a minute insect pest that can, if populations build high enough and kill fruiting wood. It can do this by directly allowing pathogens entry into walnut wood, or by weaking branches, m…

A great deal goes into a successful prune crop. In part two or a two-part podcast on prune crop phenology we complete the yearly cycle by talking about summer fruit growth, key financial consideratio…

A great deal goes into a successful prune crop. In part one of a two-part panel, Franz Niederholzer (UCCE Colusa), Jaime Ott (UCCE Tehama), Becky Wheeler-Dykes (UCCE Glenn) and host Luke Milliron (UC…

.Oak root fungus (Armillaria root rot) is a devastating disease that can plague orchards generation after generation. Resistant rootstocks is the answer. Roger Duncan (UCCE Advisor Emeritus) discuss…

Phytophthora isn’t just an early season problem anymore. On this episode of the podcast, Dr. Jim Adaskveg (UC Riverside) talks warm season phytophthora management in almond. You can round out your ph…

We know pistachios, and we love to eat them. Despite pistachio ice cream being the objectively best way to consume this nut , the majority of pistachios are sold in-shell. Have you ever wondered how …

Johnsongrass can be a tough weed to control. Ryan Hill (UCCE Tehama, Shasta, Glenn) comes on the podcast to update us on the integrated year-round management of this perennial weed in orchards. UC AN…

Dr. Pat J. Brown (UC Davis) discusses exciting new clonal rootstocks being developed by a team of UC and USDA researchers. Pat is looking for growers to trial these new clones, in particular K3 an ex…

Three PhD entomologists with UC Cooperative Extension: Sudan Gyawaly, Jhalendra Rijal, and Houston Wilson discuss integrated management of the leaffooted and stink bug pest complexes in California …

Three PhD entomologists with UC Cooperative Extension: Sudan Gyawaly, Jhalendra Rijal, and Houston Wilson discuss the phenology and monitoring of the leaffooted and stink bug pest complexes in Califo…

Dr. Roger Baldwin (UCCE Specialist in Human-Wildlife Conflict Resolution) discusses orchard management of pocket gophers, ground squirrels, voles (meadow mice), roof rats, and deer mice. This is a co…

Drs. Or Sperling (ARO-Volcani) and Maciej Zwieniecki (UC Davis) discuss their groundbreaking research on almond irrigation. That research has culminated in an exciting irrigation scheduling applicati…

Cytospora is a devastating fungal canker disease in California prune production. Themis Michailides (UC Davis at Kearney Ag Center) updates us on the biology and management of this important disease.…

Fire is a fact of life in California, whether you live in a fire-prone area or you live in an area that can be impacted by smoke. Smoke doesn’t just cause health issues to animals - it impacts plants…

English/Persian walnuts have a fairly high chill requirement and can suffer from poor bud break and reduced yields in years with marginal or low chill accumulation. Katherine Jarvis-Shean (UCCE Yolo,…