Progressive Crop Consultant - May/June 2018

May/June 2018 PhylloLux Technology for Crop Protection: Alternative Management of Diseases and Arthropods for Strawberry Production Alfalfa Fields Show Promise for Groundwater Recharge Projects Complementing Soil Applied Nutrients with Foliar Applications Good to the Last Drop: Getting the Most Out of Precision Irrigation Diagnosing an Unknown Disorder in a Pecan Orchard

PUBLICATION

Volume 3 : Issue 3

PUBLISHER: Jason Scott Email: jason@jcsmarketinginc.com EDITOR: Kathy Coatney ASSOCIATE EDITOR: Cecilia Parsons Email: article@jcsmarketinginc.com PRODUCTION: design@jcsmarketinginc.com Phone: 559.352.4456 Fax: 559.472.3113 Web: www.progressivecrop.com

IN THIS ISSUE 4

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS & INDUSTRY SUPPORT Charlotte Fadipe Department of Pesticide Regulation

B.D. Short Contributing Writer USDA-ARS

Tim Hearden Contributing Writer

F. Takeda Contributing Writer USDA-ARS

Richard Heerema Contributing Writer W.J. Janisiewicz Contributing Writer USDA-ARS

PhylloLux Technology for Crop Protection: Alternative Management of Diseases and Arthropods for Strawberry Production

10

Alfalfa Fields Show Promise for Ground Water Recharge Projects

16

Complementing Soil Applied Nutrients with Foliar Applications

20

Good to the Last Drop: Getting the Most Out of Precision Irrigation

28

Diagnosing an Unknown Disorder in a Pecan Orchard

Stephen Vasquez Sun World International Director of Agronomy

Erin Kizer Graduate Student Researcher Biological & Agricultural Engineering Dept. UC Davis.

T.C. Leskey Contributing Writer USDA-ARS

UC Cooperative Extension Advisory Board Kevin Day

Steven Koike

David Doll

Emily J. Symmes

Dr. Brent Holtz

Kris Tollerup

County Director and UCCE Pomology Farm Advisor, Tulare/Kings County UCCE Farm Advisor, Merced County County Director and UCCE Pomology Farm Advisor, San Joaquin County

UCCE Plant Pathology Farm Advisor, Monterey & Santa Cruz Counties UCCE IPM Advisor, Sacramento Valley UCCE Integrated Pest Management Advisor, Parlier, CA

The articles, research, industry updates, company profiles, and advertisements in this publication are the professional opinions of writers and advertisers. Progressive Crop Consultant does not assume any responsibility for the opinions given in the publication.

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Tests Show Low or No Pesticide Levels in Most Fruits and Vegetables in California

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20

10

28

16

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FROM THE EDITOR

Percent of total moths with identifiable host

Correction Progressive Crop Consultant Issue March/April 2018 Males from pheromone traps

Females from ovibait traps

100 80 60 40

Larval host Almond Walnut

20 0

Almond Walnut

Almond Walnut

Crop where adults were trapped Crop where adults were trapped

Monitoring and Treatment of NOW in Walnuts: Research Update was first published in the March/April 2018 issue of Progressive Crop Consultant magazine. The graph on page 20 had the wrong title. The correct title should have been Females from ovibait traps, and the bar below should have shown 30 percent instead of 60 percent. We apologize to the authors Chuck Burks, Emily Symmes and Jhalendra Rijal.

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PhylloLux Technology for Crop Protection:

Alternative Management of Diseases and Arthropods for Strawberry Production By: W. J. Janisiewicz, F. Takeda, B.D. Short & T.C. Leskey

Table top indoor production of strawberry plant. Photo courtesy of W.J. Janisiewicz.

O

ne of the biggest challenges in strawberry production in the United States is managing diseases and pests. Diseases such as gray mold (caused by Botrytis cinerea), anthracnose (caused by Colletotrichum acutatum), or powdery mildew (caused

by Podosphaera aphanis) can cause severe losses by reducing fruit quality and yield as well as causing fruit decay during production and after harvest, if not controlled beginning early on in the production cycle (Burlakoti et al., 2013; Carisse et al., 2013; Smith, 2013; Xiao et al., 2001). For control of gray mold and powdery mildew, it has been paramount that the control measures begin in the field at bloom, to protect flowers from infections (See Figures 1 and 2) that, in the case of gray mold, may account for up to 80 percent of fruit decay (Bulger et al., 1987).

Figure 1 Healthy (left), Botrytis cinerea (center) and Podosphaera aphanis-infected (right) strawberry flowers. Photo courtesy of W.J. Janisiewicz.

Fungicides traditionally have been used for controlling these diseases with regular applications from the early flowering stage through harvest (Bulger et al., 1987; Mertely et al., 2002; Wedge et al., 2007; Wilcox and 4

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Seem, 1994). However, their use has increasing limitations due to rapidly developing resistance to commonly used fungicides, new regulations limiting use of pesticides, especially in protective cultures, and growing demand for fruit free of pesticide residues (Wedge et al., 2007; Pokorny et al., 2016; Smith, 2013).

Biological approaches using various beneficial fungi and bacteria to control strawberry diseases have been explored with considerable success, but they are not as effective as conventional fungicide treatments. Despite positive attitudes by growers toward this approach, commercial biocontrol products have been used rarely in strawberry production (Moser et al., 2008).

However, biological control can be combined with compatible physical or chemical treatments to increase disease control, as it was clearly demonstrated in many examples on various fruit after harvest (Janisiewicz and Conway, 2011).

UV irradiation has been used to kill microorganisms in various systems including the sterilization of air in hospitals, water in treatment plants, and to some extent in the food industry (Beggs et al., 2006; Bintsis et al., 2000; Gardner and Shama, 2000). Use of UV in crop protection has been sporadic and mostly exploratory. The main reasons for this has been the damaging effect (e.g. leaf burn and fruit discoloration and softening) of UV irradiation to plants at the doses required to kill pathogens, the

May/June 2018

impracticability of long exposure time (several minutes) of irradiation with UV-B (less powerful than UV-C) used in most instances, and the associated energy cost. For example, treatment of harvested strawberries with UV-C alone, or with a combination of pulsed white light and heat, significantly reduced fruit decay in storage; however, the reductions were still below commercially acceptable levels (Marquenie et al., 2003; Nigro et al., 2000; Pombo et al., 2011; van Delm et al., 2014).

Figure 2 Development of gray mold from Botrytis cinerea infected petals. Photo courtesy of W.J. Janisiewicz.

Recently, Janisiewicz et al. (2015, 2016a,b) showed that using UV-C irradiation at night kills strawberry pathogens causing gray mold,

Continued on Page 6

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Continued from Page 4 anthracnose and powdery mildew at much lower doses than daytime irradiation. The dark period following irradiation at night most likely prevented activation of a light-induced DNA repair mechanism in microbes after their DNA was damaged by UV-C irradiation (Beggs, 2002) and increased the killing power of UV-C by 6 to 10fold, depending on the pathogen. This allowed for use of reduced UV-C doses that were effective in killing pathogens without damaging leaves, flowers, or fruit. This treatment was also effective in reducing mite infestations below accepted treatment threshold levels (Short et al., 2018).

Figure 3 Formation of Colletotrichum acutatum colonies from conidia irradiated with UV-C for various times (0 to 60 seconds) and exposed to daylight either immediately after irradiation (group on the left) or after four hours incubation in dark (group on the right). Photograph taken after incubating plates at room temperature for 72 hours. Photo courtesy of W.J. Janisiewicz.

The inclusion of a four hour dark period resulted in complete killing of C. acutatum (Figure 3) and almost complete killing of B. cinerea conidia in a laboratory plate assay on agar medium at a dose of 12.36 J/m2 (60 sec exposure) (Janisiewicz et al., 2016 a, b).

The powdery mildew fungi reside mainly on plant surfaces and are vulnerable to UV treatment. In earlier work, powdery mildew on roses was reduced by irradiation with UV-B; however, with this wavelength, the main effect was physiological resulting in a reduction in sporulation and treatments of more than five minutes were needed to achieve any significant effect, making this approach impractical (Suthaparan et al., 2010). To test the effect of our UV-C/dark treatment on powdery mildew of strawberries, we developed a leaf disc assay where we cut leaf discs from strawberry leaves at the most susceptible early stage of development 6

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Figure 4 Strawberry leaf disc assay showing growth of powdery mildew on control disc (left) but not on UV-C/dark treated disc (right). Photo courtesy of W.J. Janisiewicz.

and used the underside of the leaf for brush-inoculation with conidia of the fungus collected from leaves of powdery mildew-infected strawberry plants. The discs were then placed on water agar medium with streptomycin to prevent bacterial growth and were irradiated with UV-C, incubated in the dark for four hours, and then incubated at 14-21 °C (night/day temperature) for three days and for additional eight days at 22 °C with ~ 10 h light/day.

The first powdery mildew symptoms were visible three days post inoculation and the data were collected eleven days post inoculation (See Figure 4). The UV-C/dark treatment significantly reduced the incidence of powdery mildew on discs and the disease occurred only sporadically compared to the non-irradiated control treatment.

In further studies with powdery mildew, entire ‘Monterey’ strawberry plants were inoculated with the fungus and the disease was allowed to develop under greenhouse conditions. After the onset of disease signs, the UV-C/ dark treatment was applied once per week for three weeks after which the plants were evaluated for severity of powdery

May/June 2018

mildew and harvested fruit for yield of diseased and healthy fruit. Visible signs of powdery mildew on strawberry plants treated with UV-C/dark were drastically reduced and were seldom visible on the upper side of the leaves, while on control plants the signs were more apparent (See Figure 5).

The challenge in controlling powdery mildew is to reach the underside of the leaves with UV-C as this disease

B

Figure 5 Powdery mildew development on ‘Monterey’ strawberry plants three weeks after the initiation of the UV-C treatment (60 sec irradiation followed by four hour dark period, once per week). (A) In the upper left corner inset, one of the three leaflets of a strawberry leaf treated with UV-C showing no signs of powdery mildew on the upper surface and signs on the lower surface. (B) Reduction of powdery mildew damage to strawberries by UV-C treatment. Photo courtesy of W.J. Janisiewicz.

develops on both sides of the leaf. The initial experiments were conducted with application of the UV-C from above. We addressed this problem later in large scale experiments by adding reflecting surfaces in high tunnel production and designing a multi directional UV-C irradiation prototype for table-top production.

The average yield of healthy fruit per UV-C/dark treated plant was significantly higher and diseased fruit significantly lower than on untreated plants (See Table 1). In addition, fruit from plants treated with UV-C/dark were larger, had better color and luster, and did not have the cracking that was prominent on non-irradiated fruit (Figure 5 page 6).

UV-C treatment (60 sec followed by a four hour dark period) of harvested, ripe strawberry fruit artificially inoculat-

Figure 6 Control of gray mold on strawberries inoculated with B. cinerea using UV-C irradiation for 60 sec followed by four hour dark period and incubation for five days at room temperature.

Photo courtesy of W.J. Janisiewicz.

ed with B. cinerea conidia, significantly reduced decay on the fruit after five (Figure 6) and seven days incubation

Table 1 Fruit yield and quality from powdery mildew-infected ‘Monterey’ strawberry plants treated or not treated with UV-C/dark.

Treatment Control No UV-C UV-C/dark Treated

Diseased 54.50aA 5.56B

Mean fruit weight (g)/plant Healthy % Healthy 90.24B 67.4 ± 11.1b 179.40A 97.0 ± 2.0

Fruit weight means with different letters in columns are different according to t test (P=0.05) Standard error of the mean of five replicates.

a

b

at room temperature. After seven days, the amount of decay was reduced by 50 percent. Increasing UV-C doses to 90 and 120 sec completely eliminated decay without any negative effect on the appearance of the fruit and sepals.

For large scale application, we developed a fully automated selfpropelled irradiation apparatus with timers for duration and initiation of the night irradiation for tunnels (Figure 7), and a multi directional UV-C irradiation apparatus for table top production.

To increase robustness of disease control and to assure microbial safety of the UV-C/dark treatment, we combined this treatment with application of microbial antagonists. This disease control approach, now called PhylloLux technology, includes spray application of two mutually compatible yeasts, Metschnikowia pulcherrima and Aureobasidium pullulans, following UV-C/dark treatment. In addition to being excellent colonizers of flowers (Figure 8 page 8) and leaves, these yeasts very efficiently fill in the microbial void left after UV-C/ dark “sterilization“ which prevents potential recolonization of plant surfaces by unwanted pathogenic microorganisms (Janisiewicz et al., 2017). Both yeasts were originally isolated from fruits, are part of the natural fruit microflora, and

have strong biocontrol activity against pathogens causing various fruit decays.

In an assay on strawberry petals where all petals in the control treatment were infected, M. pulcherrima reduced incidence of infection to 25 percent and A. pullulans to 50 percent seven days after inoculation.

Figure 7 Prototypes for UV-C irradiation of strawberry plants at night in raised bed high tunnel (above) and table top indoor production (see page 4). Photo courtesy of W.J. Janisiewicz.

The other benefits of the PhylloLux technology are its ability to promote fruit production in short-day cultivars (Takeda et al., 2018) and to control mites and insects. Two-spotted spider mite (Tetranychus urticae) is a major pest feeding on strawberry plants (Figure 9 page 8) which causes losses resulting in reduced photosynthetic activity, lower fruit weight, yield reduction and dam-

May/June 2018

Continued on Page 8

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(Log CFU/flower or anther)

Yeast populations

A. pullulans - flower A. Pullulans - anther M. pulcherrima - flower M. pulcherrima - anther

Time (hours) Figure 8 Populations of two yeast antagonists, M. pulcherrima and A. pullulans, on detached strawberry flowers and anthers at various times after spray application (chart on left), and their effect on B. cinerea infection in a petal assay four and seven days after inoculation (picture on right). Petals inoculated with B. cinerea alone (dishes on the left), B. cinerea and M. pulcherrima (center), and B. cinerea and A. pullulans (right). Photo courtesy of W.J. Janisiewicz.

Continued from Page 7 aged fruit.

the UV-C irradiated strawberry plants had any spider mite webbing; whereas, >50 percent of untreated plants were webbed. In a subsequent experiment where artificially infested plants were allowed to develop very high mite infestation (~500 mites/leaflet) before the first UV-C/dark treatment, the infestation was reduced to acceptable economical level on UV-C/dark treated plants, while control plants were totally devastated at the end of the four week experiment (Figure 10).

addition to controlling plant pathogens, it also controls some arthropods and promotes early fruit production in short-day cultivars. The potential of this technology goes well beyond its application to strawberries and may include applications in production of other fruit and vegetable crops as well as ornamental plants and nursery stocks. As with any new technology, its future lies in the hands of its developers and users, and at present it appears that the question is not if, but how soon it will be broadly implemented.

This mite is managed mainly by application of acaricides; however, similarly to the situation with disease control, they have developed resistance to most Summary For full list of complete citations of the pesticides Figure 9 Two-spotted spider please contact Wojciech J. Janisiewicz at: (Van Leeuwen mite and eggs on underside of A search for alternatives to synthetic wojciech.janisiewicz@ars.usda.gov et al., 2010). strawberry leaf. Photo courtesy fungicides for control of strawberry Applications of of Breyn Evans Comments about this article? We want diseases has led us to the developpredatory mites to hear from you. Feel free to email us at ment of PhylloLux technology that as biological control agents can also be article@jcsmarketinginc.com combines UV-C used as a control technique, but they can irradiation be susceptible to both broad spectrum followed by a pesticides as well as acaricides targeting specific dark pestiferous mite species (Amoah et al., period (two2016). four hours depending on Our original observation of a great pathogen) and reduction in mite infestation on potted application strawberry plants treated with UV-C/ dark twice a week was confirmed in very of microbial antagonists. controlled studies with artificial infestaThis technoltion with two-spotted spider mites and ogy is safe nightly exposure to UV-C for 60 second and should for four weeks in a phytotron greenbe compatible house. The UV-C irradiation treatment with organic dramatically reduced mite populations fruit producbelow the accepted economic threshold Figure 10 Two-spotted spider mite infestation on UV-C/dark treated and of five mites per mid-canopy leaflet com- tion, which untreated (Control) strawberry plants. Populations of mites were allowed to build further increas- up to a high level before beginning the UV-C/dark treatment. Photo courtesy of pared to nearly 200 mites per mid-canes its value. In opy leaflet on untreated plants. None of W.J. Janisiewicz.

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Alfalfa Fields Show Promise for Groundwater Recharge Projects By: Tim Hearden | Contributing Writer

An alfalfa field is flooded as part of an aquifer recharge project conducted by University of California researchers. A team led by UC integrated hydrologic science professor Helen Dahlke recently published an article finding that alfalfa fields show promise as sites for aquifer recharge projects. Photo courtesy of UCANR

A

s researchers have spent the last few years testing the limits and potential of groundwater recharge in agricultural fields, they’ve concluded that alfalfa in particular can tolerate very heavy winter flooding to recharge aquifers.

In an article published in January in the California Agriculture Journal, integrated hydrologic science professor Helen Dahlke and other University of California researchers reported that most of the water applied to two established alfalfa stands in the winters of 2015 and 2016 percolated to the groundwater table.

Dahlke and her coauthors—United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) soil scientist Andrew Brown, University of California Cooperative Extension (UCCE) specialists Dan Putnam and Toby O’Geen and the late UCCE advisor Steve Orloff—asserted the results suggest the potential to significantly repair parts of the Central Valley’s depleted groundwater system.

percolates past the root zone, as much as 1.6 million acre-feet of water per year could be put back into the ground, the scientists claimed. By comparison, Lake Oroville—the centerpiece of the state water project and California’s second largest reservoir—has a storage capacity of 3.5 million acre-feet, the researchers wrote.

“We’ve pumped roughly 100 million acre-feet out of aquifers in the Central Valley,” Dahlke said in a video explaining the research on the UC’s website. “That’s a void that can be filled again.”

Dahlke noted that aquifer depletion is known to have occurred around virtually every metropolitan area in the valley as well as the Tulare Basin, where the depletion was so severe that hundreds of residential wells in the Porterville area went dry in 2015 and water had to be trucked in.

“Those (aquifers) have room to take water again,” she said.

If all the alfalfa fields with suitable soils were flooded with six feet of water during Dahlke and others caution that not the winter, and assuming 90 percent of it all ground is suitable for recharge. For 10

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instance, much of the ground in the southern San Joaquin Valley has clay in the subsurface, and once water is pumped out, the clay collapses and the process is irreversible, Dahlke explained in an email.

While groundwater tables in the valley have been depleted for decades, scientists and state officials have felt an urgency to replenish aquifers since the National Aeronautics and Space Administration reported in 2015 and again last winter that land in the valley is sinking at historic rates. Concerns over troubled aquifers led to the 2014 passage of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, which requires local governments to begin regulating pumping and recharge.

The UC’s O’Geen has created an index that identifies the locations of California soils suitable for on-farm groundwater recharge. According to the map, the best ground tends to be on the eastern side of the Central Valley, with good and moderately good soils

Continued on Page 12

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Continued from Page 10 disbursed throughout the valley and coastal areas. However, a majority of the ground identified on O’Geen’s map is rated moderately poor to very poor.

For their study, Dahlke and the other scientists picked two fields on ground with relatively high water percolation rates. One was at a UC-Davis research farm and the other was in the Scott Valley in Siskiyou County. In both cases, the alfalfa was saturated to the root zone for a short while, but the yield loss was minimal, the researchers reported.

“While caution is appropriate to prevent crop injury, winter recharge in alfalfa fields with highly permeable soils appears to be a viable practice,” they wrote.

In the Scott Valley, Etna, California, rancher Jim Morris obtained a special permit from a local water district to take stormwater from its irrigation canal before the regular watering season started and apply it in one of his alfalfa fields. In February and March in 2015 and 2016, he applied different amounts of water to different sections of the field to see how his crop responded.

Total volumes of 135 acre-feet in the first year and 107 acre-feet in the second were applied for recharge in the 15-acre field, according to the researchers. The scientists found that during one wet winter, the growing season’s demand for about three years could be recharged, as nearly all of the applied water went to deep percolation, they wrote.

For the first two winter recharge events conducted in February and March 2015, the groundwater table rose notably within 11 to 18 hours after the water was first applied, proving that the water moved through the 25-foot vadose zone in less than 24 hours, they observed. The vadose zone is the portion of subsurface that lies above the groundwater table.

“Although surface water was applied nearly continuously at the Scott Valley site, the applied water never created prolonged ponded conditions after water application ceased,” Dahlke and the other scientists wrote.

Morris hosted a field day at his family’s Bryan-Morris Ranch in August 2016, sponsored by the UCCE and a local cattleman’s group. He gave a 12

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An almond orchard in the Modesto, California, area is flooded as part of a groundwater recharge project undertaken by University of California researchers. A team led by UC integrated hydrologic science professor Helen Dahlke recently published a report finding that alfalfa fields show promise as sites for aquifer recharge projects. Photo courtesy of UC Regents.

presentation on the recharge project and on another experiment with micro sprinklers to about 50 other growers.

“I’m president of the Scott Valley Irrigation District, and we want to do what we can to benefit the community around us” through water savings, Morris told the Capital Press agribusiness newspaper during the field day. “Sometimes we (growers) feel like we have a target on our back, and when we do these things it helps to reduce that target.”

At the Davis site, a small portion of applied water filled empty pore space in the soil profile until finally reaching a saturation point—freely drainable water, Dahlke and the other scientists wrote.

As such, about 95 percent to 98 percent of the applied water percolated below the root zone (the upper two feet), and 92 percent to 95 percent passed through the transition zone into the groundwater table, indicating small losses of water to soil storage and evapotranspiration, they wrote.

A statistical analysis done by the researchers did not show a significant relationship between the recharge projects and alfalfa yield at the Davis site. They did notice a difference during one cutting of hay in Scott Valley, in the spring of 2015, as increasing amounts of applied water began to affect yield.

But despite the correlation, yield in

May/June 2018

the continuous treatment plot, which received about 26 acre-feet per acre of water, was only 0.76 tons per acre lower than the control plot, the researchers wrote.

Groundwater is an important resource in California, providing about 38 percent of the state’s water supply and in normal years and at least 46 percent in dry years, according to state Department of Water Resources statistics. During the recent drought, about 90 percent of wells had a drop in groundwater levels of between 10 feet and 50 feet, with eight percent experiencing a drop below 50 feet, the agency reported.

The research in alfalfa fields is one of several groundwater recharge projects that have been undertaken in recent years by the UC and groups such as the Almond Board of California, which teamed with the environmental group Sustainable Conservation to fund orchard-flooding research on test plots throughout the Central Valley. Statefunded recharge projects have put at least 306,727 acre-feet of water per year back into aquifers, according to Stanford University estimates.

Alfalfa fields may be among the more promising candidates for recharge projects for several reasons, Dahlke’s team advised. For one thing, they seldom

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Helen Dahlke, a University of California Integrated Hydrologic Science professor, checks a gauge to monitor the impacts of a groundwater recharge project on almond tree roots in an orchard in the Modesto, California, area. A team led by Dahlke recently published a study finding that alfalfa fields show promise as sites for aquifer recharge projects. Photo courtesy of UC Regents.

Continued from Page 12 need nitrogen fertilizer, meaning that concerns about leaching of nitrate into groundwater are much lower than with other crops, the scientists wrote.

About 80 percent to 85 percent of the alfalfa acreage in California uses flood irrigation systems capable of conveying large amounts of surface water to fields for aquifer recharge, meaning there are likely to be many fields that have the soil and underlying aquifer conditions suitable for recharge, they wrote.

Further, on a per-acre basis, average revenue from alfalfa is substantially lower than for other perennial crops such as grapes, almonds and walnuts, so economic incentives designed to offset the risks from winter recharge would be more enticing to alfalfa growers, the researchers contend.

“While caution is appropriate to prevent crop injury, winter recharge in alfalfa fields with highly permeable soils appears to be a viable practice,” the scientists wrote.

Comments about this article? We want to hear from you. Feel free to email us at article@jcsmarketinginc.com

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May/June 2018

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15

Complementing Soil Applied Nutrients with Foliar Applications

By: Stephen Vasquez | Sun World International-Director of Agronomy

G

rapevines acquire the bulk of their nutrients from the soil, through an extensive root system. Well-drained sandy loam, loam, and clay loams are ideal, but grapes are quite adaptable and can thrive in marginal soils when grafted to an appropriate rootstock. Even so, some rootstocks are poor at assimilating important nutrients at critical times (i.e. Zn at bloom), certain minerals are inefficiently applied via soil due to high fixation rates, and there are times when it is necessary to rapidly correct nutri-

ent deficiencies. In such cases, foliar fertilizers are an exceptional tool that can improve plant health and fruit quality.

Fortunately, grapes are receptive to foliar fertilizer applications and such applications can also be economical. However, effective foliar nutrient applications must penetrate several natural plant barriers that have evolved to keep free moisture, dust, pests and diseases, etc. from entering freely and cell contents from leaving.

These same barriers also make it difficult to introduce nutrients into the plant via

Table 1

Pounds of nutrient removed*

16

Macronutrients

1 ton of fruit

12 tons of fruit

Nitrogen (N)

8.3 lbs

100 lbs

Phosphorus (P)

1.3 lbs

16 lbs

Potassium ( K)

10.8 lbs

130 lbs

Source: IPNI Nutrient Removal Calculator To convert P to P2Os to P divide result by 0.436 To convert K to K2O to K divide result by 0.830

Progressive Crop Consultant

May/June 2018

the foliage. However, over the past 20+ years, manufactures have researched and developed fertilizers and adjuvants designed specifically for delivery through the foliage. Additionally, their costs have decreased; allowing growers to evaluate different products through on-farm research that can help identify foliar fertilizers that complement their soil applied program.

When are Foliar Fertilizers Beneficial?

Similar to soil applied fertilizers; foliar fertilizers are most beneficial and economical when plants are healthy and are replacing nutrients removed the previous season. Once nutrient deficiencies appear, vineyard health and fruit quality will have already suffered and foliar fertilizer applications will seldom reverse symptoms. Although a healthy canopy is preferred, it does not mean that a plant displaying a nutrient deficiency will not benefit from a foliar applied fertilizer. It

just means that you will have to account for the deficiency plus maintenance needs through the season. Depending on the area showing the deficiency (i.e.

5 percent vs 25 percent), increased field monitoring and tissue sampling will help determine how to amend your fertilizer program.

Lab analysis conducted annually that includes water, soil and tissue sampling at appropriate seasonal timings will aid in making suitable decisions on nutrient needs and amounts. Specifically, grape tissue sampling will allow you to monitor trends in varieties and vineyards over seasons, making foliar applications beneficial. Below are some situations where foliar applications have been shown to be successful.

Some benefits of foliar applied fertilizers: • Macro or micronutrient can be supplied during peak demands and assimilated faster than soil applications • Nutrient(s) fixed by soil can be properly timed and available • Varieties grafted to rootstocks with poor uptake can be fed at appropriate times • Plants with damaged root systems from soil pests or diseases can be fed • Soil temperature is below optimal • Foliar fertilizers can be added to the tank with pesticide applications, reducing application costs • Foliar fertilizers can improve an organic vineyard nutrient program These are just a few examples where foliar applications might benefit vine health or satisfy the “hidden hunger” for a particular nutrient. However, it should be noted that foliar applications of macronutrients could never replace soil applications due to the enormous amounts needed each season and the natural plant barriers that must be crossed before being available to the plant. (Table 1 page 16) shows the high quantities of NPK (nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium) removed at harvest far exceed the amount that could be foliar applied within a sea-

Upper cuticle with epicuticular wax (orange layer) Epidermis

Mesophyll

Stomate with guard cells

Epidermis Lower cuticle with epicuticular wax Figure 1 General leaf structure showing cuticle, epidermis, guard cell and stoma. All photos courtesy of Stephan Vasquez.

son; a major reason some chose to only apply micronutrients as a foliar.

Moving Past the Plant Barriers Although the cuticle is permeable to nutrient solutions, the exact mechanisms for how foliar fertilizers enter a plant continues to be researched. Barriers that make passage of nutrients difficult into

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a plant cell are the cuticle, epidermis and cell walls (Figure 1). In addition to providing mechanical support, they keep water and cell content confined to living cells so the plant can function properly.

The waxy film on the exterior of a grape leaf known as the cuticle consists of epicuticular and cutin complex waxes.

Continued on Page 18

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Figure 2 Hydrophobic barriers are found on all above ground grapevine tissue (A, grape berry; B, grape leaf; C, grape cane).

Continued from Page 17 They surround the epidermal cells that secrete them as grape tissues grow, creating a hydrophobic barrier that protects the plant much like car wax. (Figure 2) shows how effective the cuticle is at keeping water from penetrating the epidermis. It is important to note that climate (e.g. high temperature, intense light), leaf age (e.g. late summer foliage) and pollution (e.g. dust) can promote the development of a thicker cuticle that is even less favorable to the movement of foliar nutrients into the plant.

In addition to the simple, epidermal cells, specialized cells such as guard cells, lenticels and trichomes can be found throughout the epidermis. Guard cells border the stoma, an opening that regulates the movement of water vapor and other gases. Stomates as well as lenticels have been found to be points of entry for foliar nutrients and continue to be the focus of such research. Trichomes (leaf hairs) are specialized epidermal cells that can allow solute movement into the plant but more likely interfere with absorption. On grapes they are primarily found on the underside of leaves, helping shed water due to their angles or holding droplets away from the leaf surface when multiple trichomes develop near each other. In combination, the hydrophobic cuticle waxes, trichomes and few natural openings make it exceptionally difficult to introduce foliar nutrients into leaves without the aid of adjuvants. Despite these challenges, grape leaves receive foliar fertilizers more easily than other plant species, with adjuvant playing a prominent role in translocating nutrients across the wax barriers and into the cells.

Why Adjuvants?

As discussed earlier, the cuticle is an exceptional barrier derived from com18

Progressive Crop Consultant

plex waxes that repel water quite easily.

In order to gain entry into the living cells, the cuticle waxes must be slightly modified to allow passage. Adjuvants are specialized chemicals blended with foliar fertilizers or pesticides that help create openings on the foliar surface. Adjuvants (syn. surfactant, spreader, penetrant, wetting agent) help lower the surface tension, and/or modify the waxy surface layer and/or increase retention time. Adjuvants may have one or multiple factors that improve uptake and distribution across the tissue surface and throughout the plant. By lowering the surface tension, the solution is able to move across the leaf and find the micro cracks and epidermal pores or stomata that lead to the leaf interior. There are many adjuvants on the market sold as nonionic (no charge) or ionic (charge “+” or “-”).

Nonionic adjuvants are usually the best choice since they do not react or interfere with nutrient salts. (Figure 3) highlights how a foliar spray gets distributed across a leaf and grape cluster using a florescent dye. The samples used for the photo were pulled from the interior of

the grapevine and show good coverage.

Note the small dots on both the leaf and berries, which indicates the sprayer was calibrated correctly and distributed the solution throughout the canopy. It is this type of uniform coverage that is needed to get the desired results and a return on investment with foliar fertilizers.

Timing and Application of Foliar Fertilizers Unlike some crops, grapes are very responsive to foliar fertilizers and have become an important tool in providing some of a vineyard’s seasonal nutrient requirements. Much like soil applied fertilizers, timing is critical for good efficacy. Once green shoots reach approximately 6-12 inches of growth, the leaves are fully functional and amenable to foliar nutrient applications. This optimal period starts around mid-April to two to three weeks past bloom, just as the grapevine begins to become self-supporting (Figure 4 page 19). Additionally, newly expanded leaves and green shoots have not developed a thick cuticle at that

Figure 3 Florescent dye seen on a grape leaf (A) and grape berries in cluster (B) showing the solution distribution across the plant tissue immediately after an application. The dye reveals surface contact when a black light is shown on sprayed tissue.

May/June 2018

PISTACHIOS

ALMONDS

WALNUTS

Figure 4 Seasonal changes in carbohydrate level in grapes. UC ANR Leaflet 21231.

point and nutrient movement into the cell cytoplasm and translocation to other parts of the vine is more easily achieved.

Micronutrients, boron, iron, manganese and zinc can be applied pre-bloom or at bloom as individual applications with good success. More often, growers will use a “complete” or “micro-packet” foliar fertilizer that includes all the micronutrients in varying amounts plus some of the macronutrients.

There are many more foliar fertilizer products currently on the market today than 20 years ago. It is important to understand the types of products, how they work individually, with adjuvants and/or with other agrochemicals. The different fertilizer formulations (i.e. chelates, complexes, binding agents, etc.) combined with any one adjuvant can determine a positive or negative initial experience and future use. Because there is relatively little data on the many possible nutrient/ adjuvant/agrochemical combinations, it behooves the user to evaluate/compare products of interest. It is important to note that differences have been experienced with different varieties (i.e. some varieties are more/less receptive to a particular foliar fertilizer). Therefore, it is important to work with the manufacturer and distributor on applications rates and timing for maximum benefit.

Other useful resources would be your local cooperative extension advisor and Certified Crop Advisor (CCA).

When it comes to adding foliar fertilizers to your toolbox, the more on-

farm experiments you conduct, the more confidence you will have in the practice and products.

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19

Good to the Last Drop Getting the Most Out of Precision Irrigation

Erin Kizer | Graduate Student Researcher Biological and Agricultural Engineering Dept.

University of California Davis

T

rees and crops in California’s Central Valley and other Mediterranean climates require supplemental irrigation in the summer to satisfy their water requirements. Precision irrigation is the use of information about the soil, plant, and environment for optimal site-specific water management. Precision irrigation, like precision agriculture, can result in increased yield, decreased input, enhanced quality and/or environmental protection.

A plant which cannot communicate its water requirements directly depends on other methods to communicate its needs. While a great deal of water has been saved with the implementation of soil moisture sensors compared to previous irrigation methods, the next horizon for water savings is plant-based sensing, particularly in orchard crops where soil moisture sensors may not tell the entire story.

The Almond orchard in Arbuckle, California.

Irrigation begins in late April, when trees are lush with leaves and the weather begins to heat up in California’s Central Valley.

All photos courtesy of Erin Kizer.

20

Progressive Crop Consultant

May/June 2018

Irrigation schemes which utilize plant-based signals to dictate irrigation decisions and which account for how different areas of a field respond to given inputs, have the potential for significant water savings. Over the course of a twoyear study, such an irrigation scheme showed potential water savings of 30 percent compared to evapotranspiration (ET) estimates and about 15 percent savings compared to current grower practice using soil moisture sensors in almonds. With this irrigation-scheduling scheme, significant water savings as compared to conventional practices were achieved without impacting almond

Continued on Page 22

Zinc Plus +5 D.L.™ Agrobest™ 0-20-26 Top-Set D.L.

Looking to Increase Almond Yields in 2019?

Piggy back Agro-K’s Nut-Builder™ nutrient program with Hull Split (NOW) and/or Post-Harvest sprays.

The best time to nutritionally impact next year’s almond crop. Don’t forget to take advantage of the free ride available with your Hull Split (NOW) sprays to nutritionally set the stage for maximum yield in 2019. Post-harvest while leaves are still in good condition is also a great time to “reload” your trees nutritionally for 2019.

Many almond growers with late varieties or early leaf drop who rely on custom spray application often find post-harvest applications difficult logistically. Growers in this situation can take advantage of Agro-K nutritional tools during hull split applications to help prepare their trees for future nutritional demands next season. Applying Zinc Plus +5 D.L., at hull split with other early-season peak demand nutrients like phosphorus and boron, build bud strength and provide critical nutrients for next year’s developing buds so they are available when the tree breaks dormancy next spring.

Building nutrient levels in the buds this year, leads to more uniform bud break, faster early growth with larger leaves that have more photosynthetic capability and stronger flower buds for increased nut set. In addition, trees that are not nutritionally stressed experience less post bloom nut drop. Maximizing yield starts with nut set and post bloom nut retention. Ensuring peak nutrient demand timing is met leads to higher nut set and retention. The end result… higher yields, larger and heavier nuts next season.

Building nutrient levels this year sends trees and buds into winter with more strength and energy reserves that will be available to the tree next spring at bud break when cool soils limit uptake and nutrient availability. Applying Zinc Plus +5 D.L. with AgroBest 0-20-26 and Top-Set D.L. at hull split and/or post-harvest will ensure the tree has all critical early season nutrients needed ahead of spring peak demand timing to support leaf and root development. By beginning to manage next year’s nutrient needs at hull split and/or post-harvest, Zinc Plus +5 D.L., AgroBest 0-20-26 and Top-Set D.L. help prepare your trees for the race to higher yields while minimizing alternate bearing issues.

Almond Trial Var. Independence Two Bees Ag Research – Escalon CA 2015 Data

3000 2250

2938 2452

1500 750

P = .05 486

0

Nut Meat - Weights

lbs/acre

n Grower Standard Program (GSP) n GSP + Agro-K Non-Phosphite Program n Difference 2016 Data

4000

3563

3250 3049

2500 1750 1000 lbs/acre

P = .01 514 Nut Meat - Weights n Grower Standard Program (GSP) n GSP + Agro-K Non-Phosphite Program n Difference

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May/June 2018

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21

Figure 1 Management zone development based on plant and soil characteristics (left) and final determination of management zones (right). In the final management zones, each dot represents a tree in the orchard.

Continued from Page 20 yield or nut quality (number of moldy almonds, kernel volume measurements, and kernel mass).

Within each zone, two treatments were implemented:

1. Grower practice 2. Plant water stress based

irrigation management. The grower practice consisted of a soil moisture content measurement taken at a specific location in the orchard.

Management Zones Increasingly, growers are turning to irrigation schemes that utilize management zones to address spatial variability within a field. Standardized management is simplified in these zones because they require similar amounts of input variables (e.g. fertilizer, water) to produce a similar effect in output variable (e.g. crop yield, quality) (Cook and Bramley, 1998; Fleming et al., 2004). In a 1.62 ha (4 acre) almond orchard in Arbuckle, California, spatial variability in the plot was accounted for via management zones. Soil characteristics (electrical conductivity, digital elevation, and soil texture) and plant characteristics (canopy cover and leaf temperature) were used to divide the orchard into two management zones (Figure 1). These zones maximized the spatial variability between zones and minimized the differences within each zone.

A comparison of the two zones reveals the soil characteristics of digital elevation, texture (both sand and silt content) and shallow electrical conductivity (EC) showed similar spatial variability patterns and greatly influenced the creation of management zones. Basing management zone creation on static characteristics of soil ensures stability of these zones from one year to the next. Within each zone, a drip irrigation system was installed and modified so that water applied to either zone could be independently controlled.

22

Progressive Crop Consultant

Plant Sensing-Based Irrigation Even with relatively homogeneous zones within a field, soil moisture sensors may not adequately measure plant-available water due to the deep and extensive root systems of many orchard crops. Plant-sensing techniques help to water a tree when “it is thirsty”. These methods seek to evaluate the water available within a plant, as indicated by the colloquial blood-pressure of the plant, its plant water status (PWS).

which allows growers to target irrigation and maintain PWS within a certain range depending on where the plant is in the fruit growth cycle. To illustrate this point, consider the development of almonds. From an irrigation perspective, there are three stages of fruit growth in an almond crop during the growing season: pre-hull split, when the hulls of the almonds are closed; during hull-split, when the hull begins to separate and reveal the nut inside; and post-hull split, when the outer hull begins to dry before harvest. To aid in uniform hull-splitting and decrease the incidence of disease such as hull rot, plant physiologists at

Continued on Page 24

A

The common tool to measure PWS is a pressure chamber, or a pressure bomb,

B Figure 2 (A) Installation of the leaf monitor on an almond tree branch at Nickel’s Soil Laboratory in Arbuckle, CA and (B) internal components of the leaf monitor monitoring a live leaf and a dry reference

May/June 2018

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Key weeds present in orchards and vineyards have been found to be resistant to glyphosate. A best practice to slow down weed resistance to herbicides includes using multiple effective modes of action in your pre- and post-emergent herbicide sprays.

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May/June 2018

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23

LMzone 1:L M15

Tdiff

CWSI

LMzone 1:L M15

07/05

07/07

07/09

07/11

07/13 Time, days

07/15

07/17

07/19

07/05

07/07

07/09

07/15

07/17

07/19

LMzone 2:L M33

Tdiff

CWSI

LMzone 2:L M33

07/05

07/11 07/13 Time, days

07/07

07/09

07/11

07/13 Time, days

07/15

07/17

07/19

07/05

07/07

07/09

07/11

07/13

07/15

07/17

07/19

Time, days

Figure 3 Temperature difference plots over time (left) and CWSI stress patterns over time (right) from July 5-19th. Red curves are representative of a dry tree behavior and green curves are representative of a fully saturated tree. Blue lines are daily data for a monitored tree in that zone. Each point represents a day. For the most part, every 3rd day showed stress.

Network of Leaf Monitors

Continued from Page 22 University of California (UC) Davis recommend PWS of -1.2 to -1.4 MPa (-12 to -14 bar) pre and post hull-split, and increased stress of -1.4 to -1.8 MPa (-14 to -18 bar) during hull split. However, using a pressure chamber is tedious and not suitable for automated use with variable rate irrigation.

Leaf surface temperature can also indicate PWS through the relative cooling of leaves when trees are fully watered. If a tree is well-watered, its stomata open in the presence of sunlight thus permitting photosynthesis to occur. Decreased stomatal resistance and increased transpiration create a relative cooling on the surface of the leaf compared to the air.

This cooling response is affected by other factors including wind speed, relative humidity, and light levels. Conversely, this relative cooling does not occur if a tree experiences water stress and the stomata remain closed.

Based on these considerations, researchers in the Biological & Agricultural Engineering Department at UC Davis developed a sensor suite with a thermal infrared (IR) sensor along with air temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, and incident radiation (PAR) sensors. This sensor suite was developed and tested in almonds, grapes, and walnuts with promising results (Dhillon et al., 2013). Further refinement of this sensor suite led to the development of a leaf monitor, and its application as an irrigation scheduling tool was the result of several years of field study (Dhillon, 2015; Kizer, 2017; Upadhyaya et al., 2014).

24

Progressive Crop Consultant

Leaf monitors were installed on each monitored tree to continuously monitor a live leaf ’s response (Figure 2 page 22). Because these temperature differences are relatively small, it is necessary to have a baseline value of saturation to know at what point the tree has received enough water, and to compare a given tree’s behavior throughout the irrigation period.

In general, two leaf monitors should be sufficient to calculate an average plant water stress level within a management zone. However, to account for a situation where one sensor encounters a problem, an average of three sensors

May/June 2018

In 2016, a Crop Water Stress Index (CWSI) was com puted by comparing the behavior of an individualtree with that of the leaf monitors installed in the saturated and simulated dry trees: CWSI=

ΔTℓ - ΔTsat ΔTdry - ΔTsat

where, ΔTℓ = temperature difference between the monitored leaf and air ΔTsat = temperature difference between the saturated leaf and air ΔTdry = temperature difference between the simulated dry leaf and air In 2017, irrigation decisions were made according to comprehensive stress ratio (CSR) levels which instead compared a tree’s stress level to itself on a fully watered day through a ratio which normal ized for environmental conditions such as light levels and relative humidity. This comprehensive stress ratio attempted to overcome some of the limitations of the CWSI index including low index variability compared to SWP values, the necessity of deciding which days were appropriate for calibration, and the necessity of saturated tree data. Additionally, this ratio provided researchers with a comparison of a given tree to its own saturated condition.

Erin Zone 2, LM 2, Analysis Period: 223-227

[Tdry-Tleaf ]/[es(Tleaf )-e (Tair)]

[Tdry-Tleaf ]/[es(Tleaf )-e (Tair)]

Erin Zone 2, LM 1, Analysis Period: 223-227

Time (HR)

Time (HR)

Figure 4 CSR plots for stress based treatment in management zone 2 in the 2017 season. Each curve represents a different day in an irrigation period, from the day of the previous irrigation. Dark blue curves (triangles) represented days when water stress was observed and irrigation was applied.

is suggested. Thus, three leaf monitors would be used to measure observable temperature changes resulting from each irrigation treatment applied to each zone within the orchard. The leaf monitors are then connected using a wireless mesh network, which allows for continuous transmission of sensed data.

Implementing Irrigation After a preliminary testing season in 2015, an irrigation scheme based on leaf monitor measurements was implement-

ed in 2016 and 2017. A correlation was established between the index created using leaf monitor data (CWSI) and midday stem water potential (SWP) before hull split (R2= 0.79), but the strength of this relationship after hull split decreased (R2= 0.69), likely due to stress-acclimatization by the trees. The following year, leaf monitor data were quantified by a comprehensive stress ratio (CSR) which normalized for environmental conditions in a slightly different way (see technical sidebar).

In 2016, each management zone of the treatment received a fixed percentage of ETc at regular time intervals to maintain the stress within the desired range. However, when stress levels measured by the CWSI index exceeded desired levels, irrigation was increased at intervals of five percent of ETc until the PWS returned to normal. (Figure 3 page 24) illustrates this pattern of decreased temperature difference (blue curves, left) and increased CWSI index (blue dots,

Continued on Page 26

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May/June 2018

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25

35000

32140

2017 26590

30000 Two-Year Cumulative Water Use (L/Tree)

2016

25000 20000

15290

12700

15000

22110

22580

11070

10430

10000 5000 0

CIMIS ET Total

Grower Total

Stress Zone 1 Total

Stress Zone 2 Total

Total water use per tree for CIMIS ET estimates, for grower treatment, and for stress based zone 1 and zone 2 treatments for the 2016 & 2017 growing seasons.

Continued from Page 25 right) approximately every third day.

In 2017, a similar strategy was followed. CSR plots such as those in Figure 4 were examined daily to find changes in PWS over an irrigation period (from one irrigation to the next). Trees consistently recovered from stress one to two days after irrigation, and differences in plant water stress were highlighted in afternoon behavior. Lower CSR values, particularly in the afternoon, indicated higher plant water stress (Figure 4 page 25). SWP measurements made at regular intervals ensured plant water stress remained within desired levels for each stage of crop development.

Water Savings & Yield This plant-based irrigation scheme improved upon the soil-moisture monitoring based irrigation scheduling used by the grower and resulted in seasonal water applications of only about 70 percent of estimated crop ET, which was about 83 percent of the grower application. Similarly, the plant-based scheduling resulted in greater water productivity (0.776 ± 0.111 kg/m3) as compared to that obtained by the grower (0.689 ± 0.070 kg/m3).

With this irrigation-scheduling scheme, a significant water savings was achieved when compared to conventional practices without impacts on almond yield or nut quality (number of moldy almonds, kernel volume measurements, and kernel mass).

26

Progressive Crop Consultant

Despite the water use differences, there was no difference between grower yield (1.330 ± 0.112 kg/m2) and stress treatment yield (1.299 ± 0.126 kg/m2).

Additionally, there was no significant difference in yield between zones. Kernel yield followed similar trends. Kernel yield was not significantly affected by treatment (grower treatment = 0.353± 0.050 kg/m2, stress treatment = 0.331± 0.056 kg/m2).

Sources: Cook, S., and R. Bramley. 1998.

Precision agriculture—opportunities, benefits and pitfalls of site-specific crop management in Australia. Animal Production Science 38(7):753-763.

Dhillon, R., F. Rojo, J. Roach, R. Coates, C. Han, S. Upadhyaya, and M. Delwiche. 2013. Development and Evaluation of a Leaf Monitoring System for Continuous Measurement of Plant Water Status.

In 2013 Kansas City, Missouri, July 21-July 24, 2013. American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers.

Dhillon, R. S. 2015. Development and Evaluation of a Continuous Leaf Monitoring System for Measurement of Plant Water Status. University of California, Davis.

Fleming, K., D. Heermann, and D. Westfall. 2004. Evaluating soil color with farmer input and apparent soil electrical conductivity for management zone delineation. Agronomy journal 96(6):1581-1587.

Each year in California, almonds use over 3 million acre-feet of fresh water.

This method demonstrates a potential water savings of over 300,000 acre feet per year, or over 97.7 giga-gallons per year by simply reducing water consumption by 10 percent using variable rate, plant stress-based irrigation. The results of this study can benefit growers by helping them better understand plant response to water stress, and aid them in implementing a precision irrigation strategy which targets a specific plant-water status during each stage of the growing season, based on proximally-sensed plant measurements.

Kizer, E. 2017. A Precision Irrigation Scheme to Manage Plant Water Status Using Leaf Monitors in Almonds.

University of California, Davis, Biological & Agricultural Engineering, Davis

Why not listen to the trees? Why not ask if they are thirsty before giving them one of the world’s most valuable resources? Through precision irrigation, we can ensure water is used wisely, and remains good to the last drop.

Shrini Upadhyaya, Professor and Principal Investigator

Comments about this article? We want to hear from you. Feel free to email us at article@jcsmarketinginc.com

May/June 2018

Upadhyaya, S. K., R. Dhillon, J. Roach, and F. Rojo. 2014. System and methods for monitoring leaf temperature for prediction of plant water status.

USPTO.

Contributing Researchers:

Channing Ko-Madden, Graduate Student Researcher Francisco Rojo, Post Graduate Researcher Kelley Dreschler, Junior Specialist Julie Meyers, Undergraduate Student Researcher

May/June 2018

www.progressivecrop.com

27

Diagnosing an Unknown Disorder in a Pecan Orchard

By Richard Heerema | Contributing Writer

E

Step One: Spot the problem as Early as Possible

verything in a successful pecan farming operation should really be a team effort. It’s really difficult to be at the top of your game as a grower if you’re operating as a “Lone Ranger” because orchard management requires a balance of observational skills, science, and experience—and none of us have all of those things all of the time! Several sets of eyes on the orchard ensures that nothing important slips past unnoticed.

Your farm manager, farm laborers, crop consultant, pest control advisor (PCA), extension agent/farm advisor, and plant diagnostic clinic should all be integral parts of your team. You, as the grower/ orchard owner, must also be an active leader of the team (no one has more at stake in the operation than you!)—pecan farming with an absentee owner is rarely successful. When it comes to diagnosing an unknown disorder, this teamwork approach becomes especially significant.

You must know that a problem exists if you are actually going to diagnose it and fix it.

Members of your team must be physically present in your pecan orchards on a regular basis in order to accomplish this. Many new and amazing technologies allow us to do our work without ever setting foot in our orchards.

We can now track soil moisture and evapotranspiration data, and then turn on the irrigation system at exactly the right moment, all on our computers or mobile phones in the air-conditioned comfort of our office. We don’t even have to be on the same side of the globe to do all this stuff! These modern advances are truly wonderful, but they can come at a major cost if we abandon the ageold practice of carefully observing our orchards with our eyes.

After you have pulled together your team, there are three steps that will help you in diagnosing disorders in your pecan orchards.

Even when we or our team members are physically present, we often go way too fast to actually observe. Slow down and observe. Going on foot, rather than

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May/June 2018

on your ATV or in your pickup truck, forces you to look and observe. You and your team should become very familiar with what normal, healthy, productive pecan orchards look like and what struggling pecan orchards look like.

Modern technologies can really enhance your ability to observe things in your orchards—but they cannot replace a physical observant human presence in the orchard (At least not at this point in time! Who knows what the future of artificial intelligence will bring…).

Tablet computers and mobile phones are of great assistance, because they allow the team to keep records related to what is observed. Encourage your team to take lots of pictures and notes. Modern technologies can also allow your team to more easily get a bird’s eye view of your orchard, which may also be of help in spotting disorders early. Unmanned aerial vehicles (“drones”), which may be equipped with fancy cameras and all kinds of sensors (measuring near infrared, NDVI, and other variables), can really help enhance our ability to “see” things that are otherwise invisible

to the human eye.

2

Step Two: Gather information about any Abnormality or Disorder

The more relevant, accurate, and complete information that you have, the better. One little clue, is often the one piece of the puzzle that finally allows you to solve it. If you Google the symptoms, you are almost guaranteed to find an answer in about 15 seconds or less. But is it the right answer? Look closely at the source of the information. Don’t assume everything on the internet is true. Everyone on the team should remain as open-minded as possible. Avoid jumping to conclusions.

Maintain a healthy level of skepticism at the outset.

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The kinds of information that your whole team needs to successfully diagnose an unknown disorder include:

1. The overall situation of that orchard

block. (varieties, rootstocks, tree age, soil textures, cultural practices, weather conditions before and during symptom development, land use in adjacent properties, soil and water analyses, and leaf tissue nutrient analyses).

2. The history of the disorder (When did you first notice the problem? Is this a recurring problem? Have the symptoms spread within individual tree canopies? Does the problem seem to be spreading from tree to tree in the orchard?).

3. The spatial pattern of the symptom in the orchard [Are the symptomatic trees clumped together in the orchard? Or are they scattered throughout the orchard? What percentage of the orchard is affected? Are other plant species in the area or in the orchard (e.g., weeds or cover crop) showing the same symptoms?].

4. The symptom expression on the plant. (What plant parts are affected? What is the distribution of the symptoms on the plant? Does the symptom seem to have started in one part of the canopy and then spread out from there? Does the symptom severity change as you move from the older leaves at the base of the shoot to the younger leaves near the shoot tip?).

Continued on Page 30

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29

Continued from Page 29 Gathering all of these kinds of clues will help you and your team figure out in broad categories what might be causing the disorder. Is this disorder caused by an abiotic (non-living) agent? Could saline irrigation water, herbicide drift, air pollution, or freezing temperatures be the issue? Is the causal agent a microorganism (fungus or bacteria)?

Could it be a larger creature that’s causing the issue (insect or vertebrate pests)? The answers to all of these questions are needed before you can start considering and implementing solutions.

3

Step Three: Collect Samples

Symptoms alone are not always enough to diagnose disorders.

Symptoms are complicated because more than one causal agent can result in nearly identical symptoms.

For example, manganese, iron, and zinc deficiencies all can result in severe interveinal chlorosis on pecan leaves and exposure to certain herbicides can result in similar kinds of chlorosis patterns.

Confusing! Visual observation tells you there’s a problem, but it can take analysis of samples by a laboratory to tease out the exact cause.

Most states have a lab that is part of the National Plant Diagnostic Network which can conduct these kinds of analyses. For the state of New Mexico, the Plant Diagnostic Clinic is run by Jason French at New Mexico State University (http://aces.nmsu.edu/ces/ plantclinic/). Most states house their labs at their Land Grant Universities or with their state department of agriculture. If you want soil tests or leaf tissue nutrient analyses conducted, these should be submitted to a regular agricultural analytical laboratory. You can find information about collecting samples for soil or tissue nutrient analyses in the

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Progressive Crop Consultant

NMSU Extension Publications entitled Appropriate Analyses for New Mexico Soils (available online at http://aces. nmsu.edu/pubs/_a/A146.pdf; includes a great list of agricultural analytical labs in the southwest region!) and Diagnosing Nutrient Disorders of New Mexico Pecan Trees (http://aces.nmsu.edu/ pubs/_h/H658.pdf).

surrounding the lesion.

Fill all of the necessary forms for the lab. For the NMSU Plant Diagnostic Clinic, the forms are all online at http://aces.nmsu.edu/ces/plantclinic/ submission-forms.html. When your samples are ready to ship, package them securely and ship them overnight to the lab. Avoid shipping your samples on Thursday or Friday or right before a holiday so that they don’t sit out undelivered and unrefrigerated for several days.

When collecting samples for the plant diagnostic lab, be sure to keep the samples fresh and cool. Don’t just throw them in the bed of the truck and leave them there until you think of them Comments about this article? We want again. As you’re driving around your to hear from you. Feel free to email us at orchards, it keep a stash of plastic bags article@jcsmarketinginc.com (various sizes would be good) and an ice chest for your samples. Also, (and this is very, very Beat the Heat & Care important!) keep for Your Crops with: a Sharpie marker handy so that you can properly label all your samples with ® the sampling location and date as you collect them. If you’re High Temperatures & Extreme Heat anything like me, Additional Environmental Stress Conditions that the product is useful for: you are probably not Frost & Freeze • Drought Conditions going to remember Transplanting • Drying Winds what the sample was for if you don’t label A foliar spray that creates a What is it right away. If there semi-permeable membrane Anti-Stress 550®? over the plant surface. are different stages of the symptom present Optimal application period is on the tree, sample as When to apply one to two weeks prior to the many of the different Anti-Stress 550®? threat of high heat. stages as possible.

Many disorders are The coating of Anti-Stress caused by problems When is Anti-Stress 550® becomes effective when the beneath the soil, so it most effective? product has dried on the plant. is sometimes helpful The drying time of Anti-Stress is to also send in root the same as water in the same weather conditions. samples. If there are visible lesions on *One application of Anti-Stress 550® will remain effective 30 the tree, collect both to 45 days, dependent on the rate of plant growth, application rate of product and weather conditions. the affected part of the plant and the 559.495.0234 • 800.678.7377 polymerag.com • customerservice@polymerag.com asymptomatic areas

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The psyllid damages citrus directly by feeding on new leaf growth (flush).

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© 2018 Bayer CropScience LP, 2 TW Alexander Drive, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709. Always read and follow label instructions. Bayer (reg’d), the Bayer Cross (reg’d), Admire,® Baythroid,® Leverage,® Movento,® and Sivanto™ are trademarks of Bayer. Baythroid XL is a Restricted Use Pesticide. Not all products are registered for use in all states. For product information, call toll-free May/June 2018 www.progressivecrop.com 1-866-99-BAYER (1-866-992-2937) or visit our website at www.CropScience.Bayer.us. CR1017MULTIPB022S00R0

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Tests Show Low or No Pesticide Levels

In Most Fruits & Vegetables in California

By Charlotte Fadipe | DPR

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acramento–Tests on produce collected by the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) indicate that the vast majority of fruits and vegetables available for sale in California meet stringent pesticide safety standards. During its 2016 survey, DPR found 96 percent of tested California-grown produce had little or no pesticide residues.

The findings are included in DPR’s just released 2016 Pesticide Residues in Fresh Produce report.

“Once again this report shows that California consumers can have high confidence in the fresh fruits and vegetables available to them at stores.” said Brian Leahy, Director of DPR. “A strong regulatory program gives guidance to the proficient farmers and pesticide applicators that grow the fruits and vegetables that are part of a healthy diet.”

The report is based on year-round collection of 3,585 samples of produce, from 27 different counties, including those labeled as “organic”. California grown produce accounted for 24 percent of the samples tested. DPR

32

Progressive Crop Consultant

scientists and staff sampled produce from various grocery stores, farmers’ markets, food distribution centers, and other outlets throughout California.

The produce is tested for nearly 400 types of pesticides using state of the art equipment operated by the California Department of Food and Agriculture.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) sets levels for the maximum amounts of pesticide residue that can be present on fruits and vegetables, called a “tolerance”. It is a violation if any residue exceeds the tolerance for the specific fruit or vegetable, or if a pesticide is detected for which no tolerance has been established.

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• 39 percent of all produce samples had no detectable residues at all

2016 Pesticide-Residue Sampling in Produce Percentages of produce samples collected in 2016 with legal, illegal or no dected pesticide residues.

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39%

57%

No residues detected (1,408) Illegal residues (149)

Illegal sample breakdown includes produce that had excess residues over tolerances and produce that had residue present when no legal tolerances has been set.

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California Dept. of Pesticide Regulation 2016 survey

However, a sample with an illegal pesticide residue does not necessarily indicate a potential health concern.

In 2016, after public concern arose about glyphosate DPR conducted a pilot project to screen fresh produce for

glyphosate residues. This herbicide is widely used in agriculture. The testing found no illegal glyphosate residues on any of the produce tested.

Highlights from the 2016 report include:

• 57 percent had residues detected within the legal level.

• 4 percent of the samples had pesticide residues in excess of the established tolerance or had illegal traces of pesticides that were not approved for that commodity.

Produce that most frequently tested positive for illegal pesticide residues in 2016 include Snow Peas from Guatemala, Longan from Vietnam, Ginger and Lichti nuts fruit from China; Cactus pads from Mexico; and Bok Choy from the United States.

If illegal residues are found DPR immediately removes the illegal produce to prevent it from reaching consumers and the department also attempts to trace it to its source.

DPR then verifies that the produce

Continued on Page 34

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Continued from Page 33 is either destroyed or returned to its source.

Businesses that violate California pesticide residue laws face loss of their product and fines. For example, in September 2016, DPR imposed a $10,000 fine against a California grower after an illegal pesticide was detected on his grapes in the marketplace and on the crop in his 43-acre vineyard.

• See a video story of inspectors collecting samples and testing for pesticides.

• The 2016 pesticide residue monitoring report is posted at: http://www.cdpr.ca.gov/docs/ enforce/residue/rsmonmnu.htm

ORGANIC

• The survey included 3,585 produce samples representing 161 different fruits and vegetables • Each sample is approximately two pounds of produce • Produce sampled originated from 27 countries • Californian grown produce accounted of 24 percent of all samples tested • 96 percent of all samples had either no detected pesticide residues levels or levels at or below U.S. EPA tolerance levels.

Comments about this article? We want to hear from you. Feel free to email us at article@jcsmarketinginc.com Progressive Crop Consultant

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BOTRYOSPHAERIA

Taking Control of Botryosphaeria in California Walnut Orchards

The disease has a multi-season impact on orchards. Bot infects and damages the current year’s fruit, and also the fruit wood that will produce fruit the following year.

“In some mature walnut orchards, we’ve seen yield declines of 25 percent or more in the first year, with additional declines the second year and potentially devastating impacts to the health of trees in the orchard,” said Chuck Gullord, a technical sales representative for Bayer.

Botryosphaeria spores germinate and enter the tree through existing wounds or scars, such as those from pruning, leaf and fruit drop or bud scars. Research conducted by the University of California in 2014 found that untreated wounds can be susceptible to infection from Bot fungi for extended periods. For example, pruning wounds in medium to large branches can be infected for at least four months after the pruning cut is made.

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“Walnut trees with scale infestations are

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percent more prone to Bot infection.

Identification of Bot infection in walnut trees can be difficult compared to identifying the disease in pistachio and other trees, because other diseases such as Walnut blight show similar symptoms. The symptoms can also be confused with frost damage or winterkill in some circumstances.

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Botryosphaeria are a group of fungal pathogens that have been well-known for decades in the California pistachio industry, with initial discovery in 1984 and significant production loss to the disease in the late 1990s. However, Bot pathogens have emerged as a growing challenge to walnut tree health and yields in California in the past three to four years. In walnuts, Bot can easily spread from tree to tree by wind or water, and spores germinate with a quarter-inch of rain or as little as 90 minutes of exposure to water.

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IMPORTANT: This bulletin is not intended to provide adequate information for use of these products. Read the label before using these products. Observe all label directions and precautions while using these products. © 2018 Bayer CropScience LP, 2 TW Alexander Drive, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709. Bayer, the Bayer Cross, Luna, Luna Experience, Luna Sensation, and Movento are registered trademarks of Bayer. Luna and Movento are not registered for use in all states. Always read and follow label instructions. For additional product information, call toll-free 1-866-99-BAYER (1-866-992-2937) or visit our website at www.CropScience.Bayer.us.

May/June 2018

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