Growing the Valley

Nonstructural carbohydrates are the energy storage compound of trees. They are built from simpler sugars that are created via photosynthesis, and the synthesis of starch from these sugars and the bre…

Sam Sandovol Solis, professor of cooperative extension in water management at UC Davis, pulls out the crystal ball for the fourth time to predict what the 2024-2025 water season will end up looking l…

Almonds and pistachios are native to arid climates and are drought tolerant tree species. In California however, the high cost of production and land value pushes growers to maximize yields, which me…

At a time when California orchard farmers are being challenged by poor economics and tightening regulations – coming irrigation advances promise labor and time savings. I speak with Tom Devol (retire…

Phellinus heart rot in prune trees destroys structural integrity. Laurel Hoffman (UC Davis) updates us on the biology and management of this important disease.

Come to an upcoming extension meeting!

S…

We posted this episode back in 2020 and are pulling it out of the archives. It’s an interesting story of the surprising resilience of a tree after wildfire events that are unfortunately too common.

Co…

Sudden autumn freeze events still sneak up on California walnut growers – as they did to some growers last Halloween (2023). Clarissa Reyes (UCCE Sutter-Yuba) and Luke Milliron (UCCE Butte) discuss t…

It’s been a year since Carpophilus truncatus (Carpophilus beetle) was found in California. Jhalendra shares some research updates and observations with host Phoebe Gordon.

Come to an upcoming extensi…

Luke Milliron, Phoebe Gordon, and Roger Duncan discuss the three almond variety trials 10 years after they were planted across the Central Valley. Thanks to our grower cooperators and to the Almond B…

Pistachios alternate bear, which changes the dynamics of nitrogen uptake and allocation within the tree on a year to year basis. To add to this, the newer cultivars, Golden Hills and Lost Hills, alte…

A Third Thursday x Growing the Valley collab! Karla Caldera (CSUC graduate student) discusses the research she is conducting at the walnut variety trial located at the Chico State University Farm (2:…

Trying to predict when trees will come out of dormancy and whether they’ve stayed in dormancy for a long enough period of time is a very old science. The methods for calculating chill has changed, bu…

Phoebe breaks down the importance and best practices surrounding potassium nutrition in orchard crops.

Phoebe and Franz Niederholzer wrote an excellent article on K nutrition

CDFA – FREP Fertilization…

Measuring plant water status is a critical but underused tool in irrigation management. It allows us to determine whether plants actually need water, but is time consuming, done during the hottest po…

Jaime Ott discusses the resurgence of prune brownline in the northern Sacramento Valley. In addition to prune, Jaime reminds us to be on the lookout for symptoms of Tomato ringspot virus in almond, p…

Houston Wilson, Professor of Cooperative Extension in entomology with UC Riverside, gives us our semi-yearly update on Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) work in Navel Orangeworm, through work completed …

Incorporating large amounts of woody biomass into soil, such as in whole orchard recycling (WOR), can promote carbon sequestration, nutrient recycling, and ecosystem health in agricultural fields. Ye…

Soil health is broad term that encompasses a important topic: functional soil that can support human activities, animals, and plants. Measuring soil health can be difficult even for soil scientists,…

In 2023 UCANR advisors and specialists got an unusual number of farm calls on branch cankers in almonds, many of which turned out to be aerial phytophthora. Florent Trouillas with UC Davis goes over …

Luke Milliron discusses the growing list of problems with the Monterey almond variety in the northern Sacramento Valley.

Leafing failure (what is it)

Leafing failure (what might be causing it)

Flower…