West Coast Nut - November 2024

WEST COAST NUT

NOVEMBER 2024 ISSUE

POWERED BY JCS MARKETING

IN THIS ISSUE: MRLS ON THE MINDS OF GROWERS, PCAS, INDUSTRY OFFICIALS

SEE PAGE 18

CORTEZ GROWERS ASSOCIATION CELEBRATES 100 YEARS OF SURVIVAL AND SUCCESS

SEE PAGE 40

OPTIMIZING POTASSIUM APPLICATIONS AND TIMING IN PERENNIAL CROPS

SEE PAGE 58

SPECIAL FEATURE: BREEDING NEW PISTACHIO CULTIVARS FOR A HOTTER, DRIER FUTURE

SEE PAGE 10

09, 2025

page 32

Photo Courtesy California Pistachio

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Cecilia Parsons

Almond Board of California

Contributing Writers & Industry Support

Rich Kreps CCA, SSp., Contributing Writer

and Food Safety Specialist, Western Agricultural

Themis J. Michailides

Pathologist, Dept. of Plant Pathology, UC Davis

Theresa Kiehn

Vicky Boyd

Crops Breeder, Dept. of Plant

County Director/UCCE Pomology Farm Advisor, Tulare/Kings Counties

Elizabeth Fichtner UCCE Farm Advisor, Tulare County

Email: cecilia@jcsmarketinginc.com : design@jcsmarketinginc.com View

AgSafe

UC Cooperative Extension Advisory Board

Steven Koike Tri-Cal Diagnostics

Jhalendra Rijal UCCE Integrated Pest Management Advisor, Stanislaus County

Mohammad Yaghmour UCCE Area Orchard Systems Advisor, Kern County

Katherine Jarvis-Shean UCCE Area Orchard Systems Advisor, Yolo and Solano The

ePublication on the web at www.wcngg.com

WHAT TO PRIORITIZE AS HARVEST COMES TO AN END

By JASON SCOTT, MS | CEO/Publisher, JCS Marketing Inc. and West Coast Nut

Challenges also present unique opportunities for nut growers and allied industry members.

Dear Growers,

As harvest winds down, it’s time to focus on the essential postharvest tasks that will set the foundation for next season’s success. At West Coast Nut, we understand the unique challenges California tree nut growers face, and we want to ensure you’re prepared to maximize your orchard’s potential. Here are the top postharvest actions every grower should prioritize for a healthy and productive season ahead.

1. Soil Health Management

Postharvest is the perfect time to test your soil and address any nutrient deficiencies. Applying compost, soil amendments or fertilizers based on these results will ensure your trees have the nutrition they need going into the next season. Additionally, consider planting cover crops to improve soil quality and suppress weed growth.

2. Irrigation System Maintenance

Winterizing your irrigation system is a must to avoid costly damage and ensure peak performance when you need it most. Flush out drip lines, inspect for leaks and check pump efficiency. Cleaning filtration systems now will also reduce maintenance headaches next year.

3. Orchard Sanitation

Removing mummy nuts from trees and the orchard floor is critical to reduce overwintering pests like navel orangeworm (NOW). Good orchard sanitation after harvest is one of the most effective pest management strategies, helping you avoid heavier infestations in the coming season.

4. Pruning and Tree Health

Pruning postharvest can improve airflow and light penetration, which supports tree health and future yield. Focus on removing dead or diseased wood

to reduce the risk of fungal infections. Pruning encourages new growth and helps the trees thrive for the next season.

5. Pest and Disease Monitoring

Even after harvest, pest pressure remains. Be vigilant in monitoring for pests such as NOW and implement integrated pest management practices. Tackling pests now will reduce the population going into the next growing season and help you stay ahead.

6. Tree Nutrition Management

Applying postharvest nitrogen is vital to replenishing tree nutrient reserves. This practice supports root health and prepares your trees for a strong bloom in the spring. Proper nutrition now can greatly impact tree vigor and yield next season.

7. Evaluate Orchard Performance

Now is the time to reflect on your orchard’s performance this year. Review yield data, pest pressure and irrigation effectiveness. Use these insights to finetune your management practices and develop a strategy for the upcoming season.

At West Coast Nut, we are committed to supporting California’s tree nut growers through every stage of the season. By focusing on these key postharvest tasks, you’ll be well positioned for a successful 2024 growing season. Let’s continue working together to ensure the strength and sustainability of your orchard.

Here’s to a prosperous season ahead!

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HARVEST SAMPLING CAN BE KEY TO IMPROVING PEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES

By CECILIA PARSONS | Associate Editor

Harvest samples are the ‘whodunit’ in the tree nut industry. Cracking open nuts taken at harvest from bins, trailers and orchard floors provides good information about the success or lack of success of the past season’s pest management program. Harvest sampling can also show where improvement is needed in irrigation management, nutrition and orchard sanitation. This information along with grade sheets from the processors can help growers plan for the next growing season.

Justin Nay of Integral Ag said he began collecting samples from this year’s pistachio crop soon after harvest began at the end of August. The samples are placed in a freezer to keep hulls from decaying and to stop insect development until the cracking open commences.

“We are not looking at the nuts from the perspective of the processor but as a reflection of how growers dealt with

different problems during the growing season,” Nay said.

Obvious Damage Is First

Samples contain anywhere from 300 to 500 nuts from a block. As Nay looks over the sample, the first nuts pulled out are the obvious: Bot- and bug-damaged. Dark, shriveled adhering hulls are a sign of season-long decline as this disease advances. Direct feeding by plant bugs, navel orangeworm (NOW) and even birds can be seen. Nay removes hulls from all nuts in the sample to look for other defects, noting that all bug damage may not been seen from the exterior,

The fungal disease Botryosphaeria can cause collapse of the entire cluster though some shells will contain kernels and some do split open. They may or may not contain kernels.

Early split nuts are the next to be counted out. They range from underdeveloped pea splits to larger sizes where

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hulls and shells split at the same time. These are the nuts that can contain NOW in all larval stages. Unless removed by harvest, these nuts will harbor the next generation that will infest later harvested pistachios.

Nay called early split nuts, which will contain mold along with frass and eggs and larvae of NOW, ‘the bane of the Kerman variety.’ There is an environmental factor with early splits, he said, and while this can be managed, it cannot be controlled. Pistachio damage can also come from ants and birds.

Nay also looks at the pistachio kernels for signs of internal kernel decay. This blemish, which affects the Golden Hills variety, does not affect the nut flavor.

Further sorting will take out nuts that have adhering hulls, stained shells and are not fully developed. The grower may be paid for these nuts as ‘shelling stock’ at a lower rate than split nuts with unstained shells.

As the sampling progresses, percentages of each type of nut are recorded. High percentages of insect infestation mean decisions must be made about pesticide application

and timing and orchard sanitation levels.

Nay said the samples taken from the first shake at harvest will look very different from the samples taken weeks later at second shakes. Hulls will be more degraded and more early splits and NOW infestation will be found. Careful examination of the life stages of NOW found in the early splits will show when the nuts were infested.

In addition, noting percentages of infested or diseased nuts, Nay said the samples can show effects of overirrigation and shading. Higher humidity levels in orchards will cause more crop damage.

Damage in Almonds

Harvest sampling in almond follows many of the same guidelines as pistachio. Vanessa Chancellor with G.W. Osteen and Associates said the main insects that do much of the kernel damage are NOW, peach twig borer, fruit moths, ants and plant bugs.

“We are finding lots of leaffooted bugs and green stink bugs now,” Chancellor said as she surveyed a Tulare County almond orchard in mid-September.

If worms are found in samples, they can be visually identified. NOW larvae are milky white with a brown head capsule. Peach twig borer larvae are brown and white striped with a dark head capsule. Oriental fruit moths larvae are similar to NOW, but without crescent shaped markings.

Physical traits of the nuts are also noted, including doubles, shrivel and blanks. Those traits are more of a reflection of irrigation and weather. Hulls are also sent to a lab for analysis.

Chancellor said she collects samples according to a map of spray permits, which distinguishes different insecticide applications. Almond samples are collected in 20 to 40 places across a block and placed in paper bags that hold 8 lbs of nuts. The bags are marked with the field location, variety and date collected. Hard-shell varieties are sampled once, and soft-shell

Vanessa Chancellor with G.W. Osteen and Associates collects orchard floor samples.

Justin Nay of Integral Ag prepares to check pistachio samples.

Cracking almond samples from the orchard floor (all photos by C. Parsons.)

varieties twice, due to higher incidence of infestation. Presence of ants at collection sites are noted to help with damage identification. Samples are stored in a freezer to kill any insects inside before they are cracked to determine infestation and disease levels.

A sampling guide written by former UCCE Orchard Systems Advisor Emily Symmes noted that a stratified sample, nuts taken all layers will yield a better representation as infested nuts may weigh less and be a larger proportion of those on the top layer.

Records Help with Sampling Process

In addition, blocks with a wide variation in pest pressure may need more samples. Site-specific records of blocks can also help with the sampling process.

She also recommended if samples are refrigerated that hulls should be removed to limit rotting and movement of pests between nuts. Freezing is best for longer-term storage.

With a representative sample, nuts can be sorted according to kernel dam-

We are not looking at the nuts from the perspective of the processor but as a reflection of how growers dealt with different problems during the growing season.” – Justin Nay, Integral Ag

age. NOW larvae feed in groups, leave a lot of frass and chew deep into kernels. There is also webbing visible. Plant bug feeding leaves dark spots on the kernels. There is no frass or webbing. Peach twig borer and NOW can infest the same

nut, but NOW larvae bore into the nut and peach twig borer does not, and its damage is masked by NOW.

Peach twig borer and Oriental fruit moth feeding alone leaves shallow channels and a surface groove on kernels. Little to no frass or webbing is present. Ants leave behind sawdust, which can be mistaken for frass as they scrape or peel the kernel skin and hollow out the nut.

With worm damage, noting the size and stage of development shows when the initial infestation occurred and can be compared with monitoring and treatment records to improve future pest management decisions.

Chancellor said they have identified carpophilus beetle in collected samples and samples from almond trees, and identification was confirmed by UC.

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Focus on Pistachio Research

Breeding New Pistachio Cultivars for a Hotter, Drier Future

By PAT J. BROWN | Associate Professor and Nut Crops Breeder, Dept. of Plant Sciences, UC Davis and THEMIS J. MICHAILIDES | Plant Pathologist, Dept. of Plant Pathology, UC Davis

The California pistachio breeding program was initiated by Joe Maranto, Dan Parfitt and Craig Kallsen, and today it continues under Pat J. Brown and Giulia Marino with assistance from many CE specialists and farm advisors and funding from the California Pistachio Research Board (CPRB). The basic process remains the same: choosing parents to cross, initial evaluation of progeny in densely planted blocks of own-rooted Pistacia vera seedings and more rigorous evaluation of selected individuals in grafted orchards with replication at commercial spacing. Today, molecular information can be used to predict traits and discard seedlings before they ever get planted. For example, a sex marker is currently used to discard some (but not all) male seedlings. This article discusses some of the major breeding targets for future pistachio scion cultivars.

Resistance to Navel Orangeworm, Reducing Early Splits

Navel orangeworm (NOW) is a serious pest of pistachio. NOW larvae feed on developing kernels and can spread Aspergillus fungi, including strains that produce aflatoxin, a known carcinogen. NOW infestation requires both a breach in the hull and a split shell, and most aflatoxin accumulation in pistachios occurs in nuts that are “early splits.” In these nuts, both the hull and the shell split simultaneously and prematurely before separation of the hull from the shell and long before harvest (Figure 1), resulting in a characteristic suture stain after hulling and drying (Figure 2). Early splits allow NOW moths to oviposit along the split, often bringing Aspergillus with them. Tiny larvae from the hatched eggs then have direct access to the kernel

New cultivars developed with funding from the California Pistachio Research Board will meet a variety of needs to move the industry forward.

AN IDEAL VARIETY WOULD SHOW HIGH LEVELS OF SPLIT NUTS AT HARVEST, LOW LEVELS OF EARLY SPLITS MIDSEASON, AND RAPID SHELL HARDENING EARLY IN THE SEASON.

mine whether it is possible to breed new cultivars with reduced incidence of early splits. In Kerman pistachios, a positive correlation was observed between normal split incidence and the incidence of early splits across orchards (r2=0.43; Figure 3), illustrating the quandary of the pistachio breeder: Is it possible to reduce early splits without reducing normal split incidence at harvest? Conversely, has breeding for cultivars with high split

incidence inadvertently led to higher levels of early splits?

Unsplit nuts, resulting from either late pollination or insufficient heat units, are effectively protected from NOW and aflatoxin accumulation, though kernel size is generally reduced. Some varieties with large kernels yield exclusively unsplit nuts, which demand a much lower price than split nuts, and these varieties are generally discarded during the selection process.

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to feed, grow and become pupae, and aflatoxigenic fungi have ample time for kernel infection and aflatoxin accumulation. The formation of early splits is affected by irrigation management. Lapses in irrigation early in the season, particularly in May, when the shell is rapidly expanding increase the proportion of early splits later in the season. Different pistachio varieties in the same orchard show variation in the proportion of early splits despite receiving the same irrigation. Is this because their hulls are more resilient, or simply because the timing of their shell and kernel development was better aligned with the irrigation they received? This information will deter-

Vines

Almonds

Pistachios

Pistachio Research

An ideal variety would show high levels of split nuts at harvest, low levels of early splits mid-season, and rapid shell hardening early in the season. Rapid shell hardening would help protect from stigmatomycosis, a disease caused by a yeast, Eremothecium coryli, that is injected into the kernel during feeding by leaffooted bug and other large hemipteran insects, including stinkbugs.

Since reducing early splits might have undesirable effects on other nut traits, alternative solutions for increasing NOW resistance may be needed. NOW is a highly mobile insect that is thought to migrate to pistachio trees using olfactory cues. One possibility would be to identify and eliminate the volatile compounds that attract NOW.

Reducing the Proportion of Blank Kernels

Pistachios are unique in that the shell expands rapidly to full size, but a portion of the nuts are “blanks” at maturity and do not contain kernels. Blank pistachio nuts appear to result from both parthenocarpy (shell/hull development without fertilization) and from embryo abortion, though in practice it is difficult to distinguish parthenocarpy from very early embryo abortion. Blank kernels are a developmental quirk of pistachio that may have evolved as a means of deterring would-be seed predators.

The proportion of blanks on a pistachio tree in each season is affected by genetics, physiology and management. Poor pollination, stress and low carbohydrate storage during an ‘off’ year may all increase the proportion of blanks. However, even in a close-to-perfect year, pistachio trees will have blanks, and the proportion of blanks will be different between cultivars. One of the strengths of Golden Hills over Kerman is that it has fewer blanks; in contrast, Pete 1 fell

Figure 3. Correlation between early splits and normal shell split across Kerman orchards.

Figure 1. Early split pistachios, showing the simultaneous split along the suture of shell and hulls. This split is a preferable site for the NOW oviposition.

Figure 2. Early split pistachios that have been hulled and dried, showing the characteristic stain along the suture.

out of favor as a cultivar because it has more blanks than Kerman. We do not yet understand why some females consistently have more blanks than others. Is it related to general stress resistance, cluster size or carbohy drate storage capacity? Do the male pollenizer cultivars affect the pro portion of blanks? We need more data to answer these questions simply because blanking is affected by so many factors.

Reducing the Winter Chill Requirement

Perhaps the most obvious threat to pistachio production in California is our declining winter chill, which leads to weak and straggled bloom. Decid uous trees like pistachio use a sophis ticated timing mechanism to decide when to break dormancy in the spring. First, endodormancy is gradually eroded by winter chill. Once endodor mancy has been broken, ecodorman cy is broken by the accumulation of

favorable growth conditions (warmth). requirements of each individual and pected to bloom at similar times across

survive periods of drought, but it needs regular irrigation to grow a crop that can provide economic returns. Deficit

may lead to early splits, and deficit irrigation during kernel development may lead to unsplit nuts. For this reason, we should expect that different cultivars will be resilient to lapses in irrigation at different stages of nut development. Pistachio also tolerates relatively high levels of dissolved salts (Na+, Cl- and B) that are usually toxic to other crop between cultivars, with Golden Hills

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apparently more sensitive to boron than Kerman. We know pistachio rootstocks (UCB-1 seedlings specifically) differ in their ability to sequester salts in their wood. If the same is true for pistachio scions, this could account for the differ-

ences observed between Golden Hills and Kerman.

Putting It All Together into a Cultivar that Works

A fundamental challenge of breeding is to combine valuable

traits from multiple sources into a single cultivar that is (hopefully) free of fatal flaws. This process is especially challenging in dioecious pistachio since we cannot observe nut traits directly in prospective male parents. In dairy cattle, this problem was solved by keeping careful pedigree records to infer the ‘milk yield of a bull’ indirectly from the performance of its daughters. We can now use molecular information to accelerate this process in pistachio. The ability to induce male flower formation on female cultivars using plant growth regulators, though not yet possible, would also be of tremendous benefit to the pistachio breeding process. To turn CPRB’s grower-funded investment in the breeding program into new cultivars that bring value to growers, there is much to do and no time to waste.

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New technologies are helping to expedite the breeding process of pistachio by identifying and tracking fatal flaws in potential parent lines (photos courtesy California Pistachio Research Board.)

Almonds · Walnuts · Pistachios

SAFETY STANDARDS FOR WILDFIRE SMOKE PROTECTION PLANS

By THERESA KIEHN | President/CEO, AgSafe

The 2024 wildfire season began earlier than expected, with multiple fires igniting across California. Over 1 million acres have already burned, marking a 70% increase compared to last year. Recent wet winters encouraged significant vegetation growth, creating ample fuel for these fires. With more than 6,500 wildfires reported so far and the season still ongoing, the risk of further destruction remains high.

As agricultural harvest overlaps with peak wildfire season, it's crucial for the industry to be well-prepared. The convergence of harvest and wildfire seasons heightens the need for effective disaster preparedness and response strategies.

In 2021, the California Department of Industrial Relations’ Occupational Safety and Standards Board implemented a safety standard designed to protect outdoor workers from the harmful effects of wildfire smoke. This regulation applies to outdoor worksites where the current Air Quality Index (AQI) for airborne particulate matter (PM) reaches 151 or higher and where employers can reasonably anticipate that employees could be exposed to wildfire smoke. This article provides an overview of wildfire safety regulations and employee protection measures. It also highlights best practices for safeguarding your workforce during wildfire or smoke exposure, ensuring their health and safety in these challenging conditions.

Have A Plan and Reduce Exposure

As with many of the other Cal/OSHA regulations, the Wildfire Smoke Prevention Standard requires employers to develop an emergency action plan. This

plan must include clearly defined evacuation routes for all work locations and be communicated effectively to employees. It's also important to have backup plans in place. If poor air quality is anticipated, consider adjusting work schedules, relocating to a site with better air quality or moving indoors.

A best practice is to coordinate with local emergency services. Share your plan details, including worksite locations, communication strategies and proposed evacuation routes, and seek their input before an incident occurs.

Monitor Air Quality

The person overseeing outdoor crews must regularly monitor the AQI for PM 2.5 before and during shifts. The AQI measures air pollution on a scale of 0 to 500, with values from 0 to 50 indicating good air quality, 51 to 100 considered moderate, 101 to 150 unhealthy for sensitive groups, and 151 to 200 unhealthy for all. PM 2.5 refers to fine particles, 2.5 micrometers or smaller—about 30 times smaller than the width of a human hair—that can harm the lungs and heart when inhaled.

If the AQI is below 50, PM 2.5 levels are within the healthy range. However, when the AQI exceeds 201, outdoor work becomes hazardous due to dangerous PM 2.5 concentrations. To ensure safety, monitor AQI levels throughout the day, as they tend to worsen in the afternoon. Local AQI and PM 2.5 data can be accessed via resources like U.S. EPA AirNow, the U.S. Forest Service, the California Air Resources Board and local air pollution districts. Regular checks are necessary to adjust work plans based on current air quality.

Have Respirators Ready

The Wildfire Smoke Prevention Regulation requires employers to provide respiratory protection equipment that filters out fine particles. Respirators must be labeled N-95, N-99, N-100, R-95, P-95, P-99 or P-100, and be approved by the U.S. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. If the AQI is 151 or higher but does not exceed 500, respirators must be made available to employees for voluntary use. If the AQI is 500 or greater, then respirators are required to be worn. As a best practice, ensure you have an ample supply of respirators in your inventory for your employees throughout the season.

Train Employees

A key component of your Wildfire Smoke Protection Plan is ensuring your employees receive proper training. The regulation mandates that your training program covers the following topics:

• The health effects of wildfire smoke.

• The right to obtain medical treatment without fear of reprisal.

• How employees can obtain the current AQI (provide them with the website.)

• Share your two-way communication

When providing voluntary use respirators, you must train employees on how to wear and maintain them.

This bilingual pocket card, developed and distributed by the Western Center for Agricultural Health and Safety, serves as a valuable resource for employee training. This free resource can be found at aghealth.ucdavis.edu.

system with workers on how you will keep them updated on changing conditions.

• Provide complaint respirators, show them how to use and maintain them, and encourage them to use them (they can refuse to wear one and if someone does, there needs to be a waiver where they sign off that they were offered a respirator and declined to use it.) The employer must require employees to use respirators when the AQI for PM2.5 is greater than 500.

• The importance, limitations and benefits of using a respirator when exposed to wildfire smoke.

• What you will do to protect them from smoke (i.e., when you will stop work, when you will move them to another location, etc.).

It is highly recommended that all businesses with an outdoor workforce review the Cal/OSHA regulation, which can be found at dir.ca.gov/title8/5141_1.html. For additional assistance on developing your Wildfire Smoke Protection Plan or worker training, please contact AgSafe at safeinfo@agsafe.org.

AgSafe is a 501c3 nonprofit providing training, education, outreach and tools in the areas of safety, labor relations, pesticide compliance and human resources for the agricultural community. Since 1991, AgSafe has educated over 150,000 employers, supervisors and workers about these critical issues.

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MRLs on the Minds of Growers, PCAs, Industry Officials

By MITCH LIES | Contributing Writer

Each year, prior to the start of bloom, Mel Machado of Blue Diamond Almonds reminds growers of MRLs, or maximum residue levels, of pesticides allowed in foreign markets.

“We put out a letter saying, ‘So, here’s the situation,’” said Machado, Blue Diamond’s vice president of member relations.

The annual memo advising growers to avoid using certain compounds and stop using others at certain points of the growing season reflects a concern that reverberates throughout the tree nut industry as growers, processors and crop advisors plan ahead. Meeting the residue caps for foreign markets means everything in an industry that exports most of its product.

“When growers and PCAs are making decisions on how to manage an orchard, they’ve got to think about, ‘What’s the right thing to do for the crop and the pests that we are concerned about, what’s the right thing to do here in the state

of California and what’s the right thing to do according to EPA,’” said Caroline Stringer, trade director for the California Fresh Fruit Association. “And then, ‘Oh, by the way, what is the right thing to do for any number of export markets that we have to contend with.’

“It is a complicated matter for any PCA or grower who is in charge of the integrated pest management for the orchard,” Stringer said.

At an industry organization level, monitoring MRL developments in foreign countries is also an ongoing and complicated matter. And, according to sources, European Union policies consistently cause the most concern.

“Europe has been the most common reason to express caution,” said Gabriele Ludwig, director of environmental affairs for the Almond Board of California.

As of press time, there were no changes pending for EU MRLs that were expected to be problematic, Ludwig said, either because compounds are not being Because

“WHILE THE EU SAYS THEY ARE WILLING TO CONSIDER IMPORT TOLERANCES WHERE NEEDED, POLITICALLY IT IS NOT CLEAR HOW WILLING THE EU MEMBER STATES WILL BE TO ALLOW IMPORT TOLERANCES IF THEIR GROWERS CAN’T USE THE PRODUCT.”

–GABRIELE LUDWIG, ALMOND BOARD OF CALIFORNIA

used or no residues are being detected. However, the Almond Board and other tree nut organizations are expecting the pace of pesticides being reviewed in Europe to pick up over the next two to three

could directly affect MRL tolerances.

“There is a good chance that EU registration losses due to endocrine disruption concerns and other issues will mean more MRL changes,” Ludwig

needed, politically it is not clear how willing the EU member states will be to allow import tolerances if their growers can’t use the product.”

Another MRL issue that is percolat-

Whereas in the past, Mexico deferred to MRL tolerances established by the importing country, now importing countries need to get an affirmative action statement from Mexican officials that an MRL is acceptable.

“Registrants need to submit data packages for the MRLs to the Mexican authorities,” Ludwig said.

Pistachio MRLs

In pistachios, issues with MRLs can be exacerbated given with certain insecticides, pistachios tend to retain higher residue levels than other tree nuts, said Stephen Vasquez, executive director of the Administrative Committee for Pistachios.

“Part of the story is that we’re still trying to learn about the pistachio biology and why you could put the same amount of the same product at the same timing on almonds and on pistachios and come up with two different residue levels,” Vasquez said.

He noted the industry recently began funding research on the issue to potentially help growers and PCAs adjust application timing of their existing lineup of pesticides products and to help manufacturers better understand the needs of the pistachio industry when registering compounds.

“This is the first year, so we don’t have any numbers on that yet,” he said. “Sometime in January or February, we’ll have a better idea of what the first-year numbers look like.”

Also at issue for the pistachio industry is it lacks a pheromone for Gill’s mealybug, Vasquez said. Having a pheromone

could expand pest control options into the use of mating disruption, he said, which could help lower insecticide use.

“The MRL issue began when pistachio growers switched to a multiple insecticide application approach for managing Gill’s mealybug as it increased and spread throughout the industry,” Vasquez said.

“If we had mating disruption, that would at least help improve or extend the efficacy of the lineup of products that we do have,” Vasquez said. “That is one of the things that is missing, and we do have some researchers who are looking into that.”

Walnut MRLs

In walnuts, the biggest MRL concern going into the fall involved working with the European Union on establishing a more workable tolerance for mancozeb than the current

Monitoring MRL developments in foreign countries is an ongoing matter and according to sources, European Union policies consistently cause the most concern.

The walnut industry is working to align the Korean and Japanese MRLs for flutriafol with the European MRLs for the compound (photo courtesy J. Rahm.)

“GETTING AN APPROPRIATE IMPORT TOLERANCE ESTABLISHED SO THAT WE CAN CONTINUE TO HAVE MANCOZEB AVAILABLE AND IN COMPLIANCE WITH REGULATIONS IS RIGHT AT THE TOP OF THE LIST OF OUR PRIORITIES RIGHT NOW.”

– JOSHUA RAHM, CALIFORNIA WALNUT BOARD AND COMMISSION

proposal of 0.01, according to Joshua Rahm, director of technical and regulatory affairs at the California Walnut Board and Commission.

“Getting an appropriate import tolerance established so that we can continue to have mancozeb available and in compliance with regulations is right at the top of the list of our priorities right now,” Rahm said.

The industry hopes to have the mancozeb issue resolved by next growing season to ensure there are no trade disruptions, Rahm said. In the meantime, the industry is advising growers to hold off on using mancozeb other than through chemigation.

“The recommendation is to make an initial application at the beginning of spring root flush, and then you can reapply it at 30-day intervals with a final application at fall root flush,” Rahm said. “And that is when it’s applied via chemigation through a pressurized irrigation system.”

The industry also is working to align the Korean and Japanese MRLs for Rhyme fungicide, or flutriafol, with the European MRLs for the compound, which are currently established at 0.02.

“We’re working towards having that resolved by 2027,” Rahm said. “These are lengthy, rigorous, sometimes tedious processes, but we definitely are working on having that product more widely available for our growers with limited use restrictions.”

Annual Exercise

California tree nut growers, PCAs and processors have largely been able to avoid significant issues with MRLs in foreign markets for several years

running, according to sources. In many cases, because tree nuts are often pooled and growers don’t know where their nuts will end up, that has meant adjusting spray programs to accommodate the country with the most strident MRLs, an adjustment that can limit the tools available for growers.

“There are always issues with MRLs, but so far, they’ve not reared their head,” Machado said. “They are something that processors and marketers of ag products have to consider. We have

to monitor the situation, and it’s an annual exercise to be aware of what’s new and what’s coming up so that you can avoid problems as you market that product and send it around the world.

“MRLs are just something you have to pay attention to, and so far, we’ve been able to work our way through it,” Machado said.

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Kraemer & Co. Mfg., Inc.

Nut Drying & Storage Facilities

PREPARING FOR PRODUCE SAFETY RULE INSPECTIONS: WHAT TO EXPECT AND HOW TO GET READY

By RITA RUIZ | Safety and Food Safety Specialist, Western Agricultural Processors Association

If you’re a walnut or pistachio grower or huller, the Produce Safety Rule (PSR), part of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), is likely on your radar. With inspections becoming more common, understanding what to expect during a PSR inspection and how to prepare effectively can help minimize disruptions and ensure a smooth inspection process.

What are Produce Safety Rule Inspections?

PSR establishes science-based minimum standards for the safe growing, harvesting, packing, and holding of fruits and vegetables intended for human consumption. PSR inspections are conducted to assess whether farms are implementing the required practices and standards to reduce the risk of contamination from pathogens such as E. coli, Salmonella, and Listeria, which can cause serious foodborne illnesses. These inspections are usually carried out by state departments of agriculture or other designated agencies in cooperation with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

What to Expect During an Inspection

Notification and Scheduling

In most cases, farms will receive advance notice of an upcoming inspection. However, unannounced inspections can also occur, particularly if there have been previous compliance issues or a foodborne illness outbreak linked to the farm.

Arrival and Introduction

Upon arrival, the inspector will introduce themselves as a California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) Produce Safety inspector and present their FDA credentials. They will provide an overview of the inspection process and outline what they will be looking for during their visit.

Initial Walkthrough

The inspection typically begins with a walkthrough of the farm. The inspector will observe the general conditions of the fields, equipment, and facilities, paying close attention to areas that could impact produce safety, such as water sources, equipment sanitation, and worker hygiene practices.

Review of Practices and Records

Inspectors will review your farm’s practices and documentation related to key areas of PSR, including:

Worker Training and Health

Inspectors will verify that all employees handling produce have received proper training on health and hygiene practices and are protocols for handling illnesses and injuries:

• Are your food safety rules posted or communicated to visitors?

• How are sick employees handled? (Reassign position or sent home?)

Agricultural Water

The quality and management of water used for the farm’s processes will be closely examined, in particular

Having regular self-reviews of your operation's practices can help identify potential issues before an official inspection and allow you to make corrections proactively.

for E.coli. Inspectors will check water testing records, where applicable, to ensure compliance with the required standards. Although for walnut folks, items apply such as:

• Is there a water-changing schedule in place for float tank water?

• Ensure water used for hulling is potable.

• Ensure water wells have backflow prevention.

However, agricultural water management must also meet both harvest and postharvest requirements. Preharvest water is any water used in the production phase, such as irrigation, pesticide application or frost control, whereas postharvest water refers to any water that comes in contact during and after the crops are harvested and any water used on food contact surfaces. This includes during washings, cooling, cleaning food contact equipment, cleaning bins and/or packaging, handwashing water and processing.

One key requirement for postharvest water is there be no detectable generic E. coli in the water that directly contacts the product in postharvest stages. To help mitigate those risks, ensure:

• Annual water assessments are conducted once annually for preharvest agricultural water.

Soil Amendments

If your farm uses manure or compost, the inspector will review your treatment and application methods to ensure they meet safety guidelines.

Wildlife and Domesticated Animals

Inspectors will assess measures taken to prevent contamination from animals, animal intrusion and managing animal access to growing areas. However, the FDA does not require removing wildlife habitats, fencing around crops, or creating bare ground buffers between crops and habitats.

This is especially important for tree nut farms. Practicing and implementing preharvest assessments for your farm is beneficial:

• Walk or drive the ranch and area surrounding water sources look for anything abnormal such as broken fences, significant amounts of animal fecal matter, animal carcasses, security breaches, signs of trespassing, etc. that may be a food safety or security risk.

Equipment, Tools and Buildings

The inspector will evaluate the cleanliness and maintenance of equipment, tools, and buildings to ensure they do

PSR inspections are conducted to assess whether farms are implementing the required practices and standards to reduce the risk of contamination from pathogens.

WALNUTS & ALMONDS

Keep detailed records of all practices, including water testing, worker training, soil amendment use, etc. WAPA has helped members develop food safety plans, including logs to help maintain detailed records.

not pose a risk of contamination. You want to prepare to discuss how you clean and sanitize your equipment, especially harvest equipment. Ensure that:

• You have all documentation of cleaning and sanitizing activities such as procedures and schedules for cleaning harvest equipment, bathrooms and/or toilet facilities (including portable toilets) and tools.

• Hand-washing facilities are available and adequately stocked.

Discussion and Feedback

After completing the inspection, the inspector will discuss their findings, provide feedback on areas where your farm is meeting the requirements and highlight any areas of concern that need to be addressed.

Documentation of Findings

The inspector will document their findings in a report, which you will receive. If any non-compliance issues are identified, you may be given a timeframe to make the necessary corrections.

How to Prepare for a Produce Safety Rule Inspection

Stay informed

Food safety guidelines can change, so staying informed is key. The FDA and state agriculture departments offer several resources to help you stay informed. Western Agricultural Processors Association (WAPA) assists its tree nut industry members in compliance with the Produce Safety Rule.

Develop and maintain records

Keep detailed records of all practices, including water testing, worker training, soil amendment use, etc. WAPA has helped members develop food safety plans, including logs to help maintain detailed records.

Walnut Equipment

Almond Equipment

Conduct self-audits

Having regular reviews of your farm’s practices can help identify potential issues before an official inspection and allow you to make corrections proactively. WAPA, in conjunction with CDFA, coordinated multiple free Regional On-Farm Readiness Reviews for farms to learn about what to expect during an inspection. These reviews included mock inspections, covered topics on food safety practices and harvest and postharvest requirements, along with a great oppor tunity to ask specific questions to CDFA.

Train your team and self

Under PSR, it is required that there is an individual who has completed an FDA-approved Produce Safety Rule Grower Training or equivalent. Provide regular training sessions and reminders about health and hygiene practices, safe equipment use and oth er critical areas. WAPA helps provide training on safe equipment use in the agricultural community.

Maintain Cleanliness and Organization

Keep your farm, equipment and facilities clean as appropriate and organized. Clean and sanitize, as neces sary, tools, equipment and surfaces that come into contact with produce to minimize contamination risks.

❛Food safety guidelines can

change, so staying informed is key.❜

Prepare for Questions

Be prepared to answer questions from the inspector about your farm’s practices and how you comply with PSR. WAPA can assist members and be onsite during the inspection.

Create an Inspection Plan

Develop a plan for handling an inspection. Designate a competent individual to accompany the inspector, provide requested documents and answer questions.

Remember, an inspection is an

opportunity to improve and demonstrate your commitment to food safety. With the right preparation, you can ensure that your farm is always ready for an inspection.

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Winter Sanitation at Top of Mind This Winter

By KATHY COATNEY | Contributing Writer

Mummy nuts being poled from an almond tree (photo courtesy Jack Kelly Clark, University of California Statewide IPM Program.)

Mummy nuts have been identified as the link for overwintering navel orangeworm (NOW), and growers are strongly encouraged to practice winter sanitation not only as a foundation for any NOW control program, but also for the emerging invasive pest, the Carpophilus beetle.

NOW damage is also associated with aflatoxin, so along with the direct damage NOW causes to the kernel, the damage opens the door to fungal infections and contaminants, particularly to the fungi Aspergillus spp. and the aflatoxin contaminant it produces.

This is critically important when it comes to export markets like the European Union and Japan that have limitations for aflatoxin contamination. The European Union is one of the biggest importers of California almonds. They have tight regulations and a low threshold for aflatoxin levels.

Benefits of Orchard Sanitation

Sudan Gyawaly, integrated pest management advisor for Butte, Glenn, Yuba/Sutter, Colusa and Tehama counties, said, “Winter sanitation is considered the foundation for navel orangeworm management, which is a key pest of this crop. So, if you are wanting to decrease your next year's NOW damage, sanitation is the key,” he said.

Sanitation has two major benefits. First, NOW overwinters in the mummy nuts, so removing the mummy nuts and destroying them kills the overwin-

tering insects, which directly reduces the number of insects overwintering in those nuts.

Secondly, when mummy nuts are removed, it also removes those nuts that would serve as a shelter, breeding site and food source for NOW until the new crop is available.

Mark Cavallero, owner of Cavallero Farms in Madera, Calif., does winter sanitation on his almonds, and he agrees there are multiple benefits to winter sanitation.

“The biggest benefit would be when you leave almonds on the tree throughout winter, you're literally creating

Mummy nuts on the ground in an almond orchard (photo courtesy Jack Kelly Clark, University of California Statewide IPM Program.)

Mummy nut in an almond tree (photo courtesy Jack Kelly Clark, University of California Statewide IPM Program.)

homes for navel orangeworms. And it's a place for them to hide, and they have an abundance of food to sit there and and snack while they're waiting for harvest time, for the new crop to be ready.”

Carpophilus Beetle vs NOW

The Carpophilus beetle uses those mummy nuts just like the NOW does. “We have two insects we are trying to manage with sanitation,” Gyawaly said.

The Carpophilus beetle is a new pest in California. Farm advisors and researchers are still collecting information in terms of its biology, ecology and how it utilizes the mummy nuts. But with few chemical controls available,

One thing I do for my Independence is I usually go through with a pole crew right after they shake the almonds and shake all the trees by hand with these large fiberglass poles. – Mark Cavallero, Cavallero Farms

winter sanitation has been identified as a critical component in stopping its development.

There are some differences between these two pests. While both utilize the mommy nuts, the Carpophilus beetle tends to prefer the mummy nuts that are on the orchard floor, whereas NOW prefers the mummy nuts that are on the tree. This makes it even more critical to destroy the mummy nuts that are on the orchard floor.

The other difference is the beetles may continue breeding on the mummy nuts and complete multiple generations building up more population before the new crop is available, Gyawaly said.

Equipment for Sanitation

Besides mowing to remove the mummy nuts from the orchard floor,

Smooth, hard orchard floors maintained over the winter are one option for pistachio growers to make sanitation easier and improve kill in mummies (photo by C. Parsons.)

Stick tights are an especially appealing overwintering site for NOW.

Mark Cavallero, owner of Cavallero Farms in Madera, Calif., said Independence can be particularly stubborn when it comes to sanitation.

there is also tillage equipment available that incorporates them into the soil.

Kat Coombes, manager of Tillage Management Inc. in Tulare, Calif., said they have tillage equipment that incorporates the mummy nuts into the soil, and the benefit of that is, underground they are most exposed to moisture.

“The purpose of our equipment is to till the ground and incorporate all of the residue and the nuts on the surface into the soil,” Coombes said. “Some people will still mow. No one really knows what the best way is to get the most shattering on the nuts.”

Getting the mummy nuts below the surface of the soil allows the microbes and the worms to work on them.

“There’s a much higher chance that they'll be broken down,” Coombes said.

“We've been making optimizer equipment in general for over 20 years, but we only developed our orchard line around 2017-18,” Coombes said.

Orchard Disk is a towed five-row implement that hooks to a tractor. “In comparison to other tillage equipment, we are typically the heaviest and the most expensive, mainly because of the amount of steel in it. But the idea is that you're saving time by only going through in one pass compared to three or four passes with any other equipment,” Coombes said, which means less labor, less fuel, less wear and tear on the equipment.

Stick Tights

Stick tights can make mummy removal more difficult, according to Mohammad Yaghmour, orchard systems advisor in Kern County. “The more stick tights in general, the harder

the nuts will come off the tree.”

“Some varieties stick more on the tree than the others,” Yaghmour continued, but sometimes there are other problems that create stick tights. “For example, hull rot disease may cause stick tights, so those nuts may also harbor navel orangeworm, and they are hard to get off of the tree.”

Cavallero farmed Butte/Padre almonds, but he’s switched to the Independence variety. “Independence loves to stick, and then finding that window to harvest where they're not going to stick is tricky, and I feel like every single year it changes. Padres as well also love to stick,” he said.

“One thing I do for my Independence is I usually go through with a pole crew right after they shake the almonds and shake all the trees by hand with these large fiberglass poles, which then come wintertime usually I don't have very many mummies, if any, because I was able to get them all off during harvest. At this point in the industry today, every pound counts,” Cavallero said.

For the most part, the sticktights are still viable nuts, Cavallero continued. “Even if they aren't, they have to come off either way, and they’ll get cleaned out during processing, so you might as well get them off now,” Cavallero said.

“The way I see it, if there are enough pounds out there to justify the cost of the crew, to knock them off by hand usually there are more than enough nuts out there to do that. Sometimes it's not, and then you can go out there during winter sanitation alone. But running those winter sanitation machines is definitely not cheap either, so you might as well try to get them all off during harvest and if you can get any money for them, do it that way,” Cavallero said.

Mummy Nut Removal

According to the Almond Board of California (ABC) winter sanitation is the cornerstone of NOW management. The removal and destruction of mummy nuts prevents overwintering of NOW. This pest can travel to other almond orchards, so winter sanitation is important for your crop and your neighbors.

ABC suggests growers follow these guidelines, which vary by growing region:

MIST NOW

1. Before January 15, and preferably earlier: Count the mummy nuts and examine 20 trees per block. If an average of two or more mummy nuts per tree (and even lower in the southern San Joaquin Valley) are found on or before January 15, get out the shaker or poling sticks and remove mummies in the entire block.

2. Before February 1: Remove mummy nuts from trees before bud swell, typically before February 1, by mechanically shaking the tree or hand poling, or both.

3. Before March 1: Blow or sweep fallen mummy nuts to the row centers and destroy them by flail mowing, especially where ground cover is not present or in years with dry winters. This timing is critical as mid-March is when the NOW flights begin.

“Just shaking the mummy nuts and leaving them on the ground isn’t really enough,” Yaghmour said. “We need to blow them and mow them to really get the effect of winter sanitation. It's important to try to destroy the nuts.”

Gyawaly agreed that the mummy nuts should be blown from the crotch-

Before using One Pass in a walnut orchard, left, and after on the right. The smoother surface helps improve mummy destruction (photos courtesy Tillage Management, Inc.)

es of the trees, swept into the middle of the row and mowed. If the nuts are only shaken from the tree, some population will survive in the nuts left on the ground. This makes it important to destroy them once they are on the ground, he said.

Most growers will shake the mummy nuts, sweep and mow them. Some will rototill them back into the ground. This provides organic matter back into the topsoil and preventing the moths or worms a place to reproduce, so basically eliminating risk, Cavallero said.

“It looks a lot cleaner,” he continued, “and I think too the more almonds you leave on the tree, the less you're going to produce that next year.

“And mummies sometimes are bad enough in some fields where it can be an issue as far as quality, but you're also just leaving nuts that are no good out there,” Cavallero said.

“In almond, I have seen the growers wait until they get a couple of rains so the nuts absorb some moisture,” Gyawaly said, adding this makes it easier to remove the mummy nuts from the trees, but wait too long and the ground could become saturated, and growers may not be able to get into the orchard.

Some growers will do test shakes to see how well the mummy nuts are coming off before they proceed, Yaghmour said.

“You want to do it before the bud swell right,” Cavallero said. “The middle of January to February if you haven't done it yet, you really won't have an opportunity to.

“And fighting the elements is the biggest one, and you have to remember most medium to small size operations do not have their own harvest equipment. So, scheduling that is a nightmare, especially with rain,” Cavallero said, adding finding the time and people to do the shaking is difficult along with battling the weather.

“Most of the larger operations have their own equipment, so weather is their only dilemma, vs smaller growers that have weather and scheduling issues with harvesters,” Cavallero said.

“With the Carpophilus beetle, winter sanitation is even more critical,”

Gyawaly said, to remove these nuts from the orchard floor because they can survive in even a small piece of nut.

With two insects that can survive in the mummy nuts in almonds, it's even more critical to practice winter sanitation, Gyawaly said, adding sanitation will definitely keep the population low on the Carpophilus beetle.

Orchard sanitation is the best control for these pests for growers. “It’s

very important for controlling Carpophilus beetle and navel orangeworm,” Gyawaly said.

The bottom line: winter sanitation is important for both pests, and it is the key to all control approaches.

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Presentation

Yuba City, California January 9, 2025

BROUGHT TO YOU BY

In collaboration with

Growers, Applicators, PCAs, CCAs, and Processors Welcome! Networking and Industry Mixer

Exhibits Co ee, Donuts, and Industry Lunch

CEUs, Seminars, and Workshops

TENTATIVE AGENDA

7:00 AM Registration / Trade Show

8:00 AM State of the Industry:

Robert Verloop, CEO, California Walnut Board and Commission

8:30 AM Preparation for Produce Safety Rule Inspections: What to expect

Angela Terrazas, CDFA Produce Safety Rule and Outreach Specialist (invited)

9:00 AM Navel Orangeworm: NOW management with a long-term view

Houston Wilson, UCCE IPM Advisor (invited)

9:30 AM CEU Pest Management Presentation

10:00 AM Break/ Trade Show & Walnut Research Poster Sessions

11:00 AM Panel: Walnut Marketing Around the World

1.5 hours DPR and 3.5 hours CCA Units Pending Approval

12:00 PM Industry Lunch

12:30 PM Panel: Orchard Management for the Future: A Systems Approach to Crop Fertility, Sustainable Pest Management and Orchard Design

1:15 PM Walnut Pest Management in the 21st Century

2:00 PM Insights from the Industry

3:00 PM Free Industry Mixer

4:00 PM Adjourn

CALIFORNIA WALNUT CONFERENCE Designed to Move Industry Forward

In addition, buyers, importers and handlers will be on hand to engage with growers about what they are hearing on the front lines.

he California Walnut Conference is back in Yuba City on Jan. 9 and refocused on providing the staples growers have come to expect from the popular JCS Marketing event along with a new approach to help California walnut growers see the path forward for the industry’s future.

“We are so happy to be back with California Walnut Growers in Yuba City. This conference is near and dear to my heart and I look forward to meeting rsthand with growers and exhibitors to advance the industry,” said Jason Sco , CEO of JCS Marketing and Publisher of West Coast Nut magazine.

This year’s program, developed in cooperation with co-host the California Walnut Board and Commission, will consist of all the things that have made this show popular with walnut growers over the years—continuing education credits, a trade show, free industry lunch, while o ering new elements to make it even more engaging and relevant to the state’s walnut growers.

Hear the latest on pest, disease and crop management CEU topics while also engaging with researchers on the trade show floor to learn more about what is being funded in production and post-harvest research.

The California walnut industry continues to face unprecedented challenges. During the annual State of the Industry session, growers will hear from California Walnut Board and Commission CEO Robert Verloop about current global and walnut industry economics and trends that a ect California walnuts as well as the priorities CWB/CWC are focusing on to move the industry forward. Later that morning, learn from a panel of International and US walnut buyers on opportunities to grow demand for California walnuts across the globe. Gain insights into what their markets are looking for to increase sales and expand consumption of our high-quality walnuts.

A panel of growers and industry experts will discuss sustainable practices such as cover crops, soil health, IPM, etc. that support regenerative walnut growing, providing a glimpse into the walnut orchard of the future.

And hear from growers and handlers about how the California walnut industry can impact global supply and demand, and create buyer con dence in quality, reliable supply and dependable pricing.

“The industry is going through changes and we’ve seen some hard times, but we are also seeing some optimism about where the industry can gain ground and move forward into the future,” Verloop said.

The one-day California Walnut Conference is designed to give walnut growers a vision for what that looks like and how to get there. In addition, conference participants from handlers, importers and buyers throughout the supply chain will be on hand for growers to visit with and learn from.

Another new element, the trade show floor is being designed to be even more engaging. During breaks and the new closing Industry Mixer, researchers will be on hand to interact with growers about the latest industry funded research. And the new Grower Resource and Assistance Center will feature the Risk Management Agency as well as agencies o ering incentive programs to provide nancial support to walnut growers. Come meet with representatives rsthand and hear what resources are available.

And of course, industry supporters, including exhibitors and sponsors, will be on hand to demonstrate the latest products, innovations and technologies designed to help growers become more e cient and innovative.

SKILLS A FARM MANAGER NEEDS TOP

By CECILIA PARSONS | Associate Editor

Stephen Vasquez, California Pistachio Research Board and Administrative Committee for Pistachios, and Cory Broad, irrigation specialist at AvidWater, using a pressure bomb to evaluate water stress (photo courtesy Western Region Certified Crop Advisers.)

Whether a farm manager answers to a corporate office or to family members, whether farm managers oversee 1000s of acres or less than 100, they need to possess a variety of personal skills that will help them succeed in delivering a high-yielding and high-quality crop. These skills also help foster good working relationships with coworkers.

While specific skills related to crop nutrition, irrigation and pest control are valuable, there are important managerial skills that cannot be overlooked. Stephen Vasquez, chairman of Western Region Certified Crop Advisors board of directors and executive director of California Pistachio Research Board, provided his list of the top five skills he considers essential to be an effective farm manager: good communication, critical thinking, data analysis proficiency, self-awareness and general field knowledge. While farm managers can have expertise in many aspects of crop production, Vasquez said possession of these skills allows for more effective management of people and crops. It also helps to have an open mind and be able to learn from experiences of

others in the workplace.

“There is no substitute for experience,” Sam Dolcini of AGRI Associates, a Kansas-based agriculture recruiter, said. California experience is also valuable due to the uniqueness of farming in the state. Managers also need to be willing to learn from others, be flexible when situations change and be resilient, he added.

Good Communication

Optimal verbal and written skills will allow the manager in charge to communicate with the people he oversees about work that needs to be done and be able to respond to questions about the job. Communication includes training in specific tasks or instructions on how a job should be done and when a job should be done and listening to employee concerns. Managers also need to communicate effectively with a myriad of state and federal regulators, inspectors and agencies about farm operations. Communication means dealing with regulations, asking specific questions about regulations that pertain to the farming operations and understanding how to respond to regulators.

An example of good verbal communication could be a review of company harvest safety rules. The first round starts with supervisor and farm managers as they review past seasons and safety hazards, develop solutions and update the safety plan. The next step in communication would be identifying employees to help implement the plan. Continued communication ensures the plan is being implemented correctly.

Critical Thinking

Every day on the job will present a new challenge. Managers will need to solve multiple issues every single day. All days are different, and managers must be able to understand a problem and look at it from different viewpoints. They also must help employees understand and deal with the challenges.

A good critical thinker will take in as much information as possible regarding an issue, formulate a solution or multiple solutions and begin the process of solving a problem. As the solutions are being carried out, a good critical thinker will evaluate progress and, if necessary, make changes to be successful. A good critical thinker will not have a problem scrapping one plan and implementing a second, or better, plan.

Data Analysis

Managers need to be able to evaluate data quickly. This involves knowing when improvements are needed in irrigation, crop nutrition, pest control and other aspects of the farming operations. An example would be a spray crew applying a material that is calibrated for covering six acres. Observation of the operation shows they are covering more acres than calculated. What information would a manager need to gather? Why is this happening? Is the spray rig driver speeding or skipping rows? Managers must be able to pull the data together and communicate what needs to change. Or having multiple years of growing data for a particular crop at different

locations and knowing that the crop cannot be farmed or harvested the same at all locations due to different variety and rootstock combinations. The soil, water and climate at each location all play roles in crop quality and maturation. Knowing the site impacts quality and maturity, the goal of the manager would be to develop a management plan and use the data to manage all sites to minimize costs (this could also fall under critical thinking.)

Self-Awareness

A manager must know themselves and their limitations in production knowledge and when to call in support or advice. Education, experiences, talent and skillset can all be added up, but self-awareness is being comfortable not knowing everything and allowing someone else to take the lead or teach you what you need to know. No one can know it all. Being self-aware means knowing when support is needed and realizing there is something new to be learned. Managers should also be able to recognize when an employee can pro-

vide an improved management method and to trust their knowledge.

An example would be a manager with basic knowledge of artificial intelligence (AI) robotics and automation. A new employee is hired right out of college with experience in AI automation and harvesting apples. He is now working for a stone fruit company that wants to take advantage of that technology to automate harvest. Making sure the new employee has all the resources needed to be successful and letting them lead the project demonstrates the manager is aware of his limitations and the abilities of the new hire.

General Field Knowledge

Managers must know the crops they are farming under many different scenarios including crop health, stress, pests and diseases. This knowledge includes understanding how the environment at different field locations. Skills include good understanding of soils, irrigation, plant nutrition, horticulture, entomology and plant pathology among others. Working knowledge of machin-

ery used in production includes pump maintenance, tractors, harvest equipment and specialized machinery like spray rigs is important.

Other ‘must haves’ in general knowledge include weather monitoring capability and using both private and state-run weather networks like the California Irrigation Management Information System. To access information, knowing farm software for crops, regulations and human resources is important.

The managerial five skills can be acquired or they can be honed, Vasquez said, as there are opportunities with several leadership programs. The American Pistachio Growers LeadOn Program is a year-long program designed to provide leadership training and industry education seminars. The Almond Leadership program aims to master communication and leadership techniques.

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

Decisions, Decisions

Producers Who Removed Orchards

Mull Their Next Options

VICKY BOYD | Contributing Writer

So you’ve pulled out your old orchard, now what? Many tree nut producers are asking themselves that same question as walnut and to a lesser extent almond prices remain low, input costs continue to climb, interest rates are still elevated and water reliability is questionable.

While some producers have replanted former orchards with the same crop or another permanent crop after ground preparation, others have taken a more wait-and-see approach. Among options that offer more farming flexibility are fallowing, which still requires work to minimize weed and pest issues, or putting the ground into row crops. And some growers have decided to get out of farming altogether.

For a number of row crops, UC has developed the rice rotation calculator that lets growers gauge how different rotations will affect their profitability. But the university does not have a similar decision-support tool

This chip pile near Ripon is a remnant of an old almond orchard (all photos by V. Boyd.)

After removing an old orchard, some growers have decided to go back in with a permanent crop. These holes are being dug in preparation for a San Joaquin County almond orchard.

for permanent crops, said Brittney Goodrich, former UC Davis Extension ag economist who now works for University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign Extension.

“Such a tool would be very useful, so it’s unfortunate that one doesn’t exist,” she said. In lieu, Goodrich pointed to UC Davis’ cost and returns studies for hypothetical orchards using different production systems. The analyses are only meant as guides and don’t represent any single farm.

‘Brings Tears to My Eyes’

Bob Beede, UCCE farm advisor emeritus in Kings County, has watched the struggles of area walnut producers in recent years. Describing the small-scale growers comprising much of Kings County’s acreage as “mom and pop operations,” he said many have poured their life savings into their orchards only to lose money in recent years.

They typically are not vertically integrated with businesses, such as driers that could potentially offset some losses, nor do they have other crops that could possibly shore them up financially.

“In all of my 45 years as a resident of the county of Kings and having spent 38 as a UC farm advisor serving the tree fruit and nut industries in Kings County, I can unequivocally say I’ve never seen it as decimated as I have in the last three or so seasons,” Beede said. “It brings tears to my eyes to see all my ag friends and farmer friends struggling after working their entire lives to build up enough wealth so they could pass on a successful farming operation to children who are interested in farming. The mom and pops have now sold property, equipment, maybe dipped into their 401k programs to cover some of their losses in hopes the market will turn around.” Driving around, Beede said it’s

common to see a wasteland of dead trees that used to be thriving orchards. Rather than continuing to pour money into their blocks, many producers have just quit farming them.

While some may plan to have them pulled and chipped, others can’t afford the service. Less apparent is the huge mental stress the financial struggles are causing producers, he said.

Beede pointed to the COVID-19 pandemic as one of the main drivers behind the walnut industry’s current economic malaise. Until 2020, many south San Joaquin Valley producers grew the Serr walnut variety, which was harvested early and could make it into lucrative holiday export markets.

But with port shutdowns, shipping container shortages and other supply chain issues, Serr producers lost the market primarily to Chilean producers and never gained it back. Supply backups domestically were repeated throughout the walnut industry, and

Heavy equipment operators have been in high demand as almond growers decide to pull orchards.

Companies that provide whole-orchard recycling have been kept busy as growers pull out older or under-performing orchards.

prices frequently plummeted to below the cost of production. A 2022 summer heat wave that damaged about a third of the walnut crop only added to the industry’s economic woes.

Walnut prices have finally begun to inch back up and are starting to return to profitable levels for some producers. Adding uncertainty is the south San Joaquin Valley’s water outlook.

This year, the federal Central Valley Project (CVP) only delivered

50% of contracted amounts for South of Delta agricultural contractors. The Bureau of Reclamation, which operates the CVP, didn’t even announce the final allocation until June 24, further complicating planning.

Much of the delivery reductions stem from the 1992 Central Valley Project Improvement Act, which diverted up to 800,000 acre-feet of water annually from agriculture to environmental uses. In response,

The guys who are taking their orchards out, a lot of them used to be row crop farmers or grow field crops, so I think a lot of them are going back to it.

– Herman Doornenbal Jr., almond producer

many growers turned to groundwater.

But the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act of 2014 requires overdrafted and severely overdrafted groundwater basins to balance extraction with recharge by 2042 or 2040, respectively. Already, the state has tried to take over groundwater management in a handful of groundwater subbasins because it said local agencies have not done enough to reduce land subsidence caused by overpumping.

This walnut orchard near Waterford was just one.

Some almond producers remain bullish on the crop and continue to plant young orchards, such as this one in Colusa County.

NASS Numbers Tell the Story

Faced with growing uncertainty, Beede said, numerous producers have decided to get out of walnuts.

Those decisions were borne out in the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service’s 2023 California Walnut Acreage Report released May 23. Walnut bearing acreage was on a steady climb in the state, peaking with 400,000 acres in 2022 before dropping to an estimated 385,000 acres in 2023 and 370,000 bearing acres this season.

Ken Vogel, who farms walnuts and cherries with his son near Linden, is another walnut producer who cut his losses. He is removing an older Hartley orchard, taking care not to damage the irrigation system that serves an adjacent cherry orchard.

In its place, he plans to plant coral champagnes, an early maturity cherry variety.

“For the last several years, corals have done pretty well,” Vogel said. “I’d thought about leasing it out for melons, but I think I’d have to pay to get the whole orchard cleaned up. This is kind of the least expensive way to do it.”

On his other small ranch that has later-maturing Bing cherries, he plans to graft over to corals. Not only do Bings do poorly in the heat, but the later variety frequently competes with Washington cherries as they enter the market. The only walnuts Vogel plans to keep are about 12 acres of the Chandler variety, which is what many marketers prefer. Vogel said he feels fortunate because he also has a house and mobile home on one ranch that he rents out. “It’s a better source of income than the walnuts,” he said.

He hoped the orchard modifications and rental income will allow him to stay in business without selling any property, since one ranch has been homesteaded since 1864.

Almond Trends Spur Optimism

Almond producers also faced post-COVID-19 market challenges caused by backed up exports, which resulted in larger supplies, less demand and lower prices. About 70% of the state’s almonds are shipped to other countries.

The price decline prompted many almond producers to evaluate their blocks and remove less productive ones. Since 2019, the Almond Board of California has contracted with Land iQ, a Sacramento-based agricultural consulting firm, to provide almond acreage figures. The company bases its estimates on remote sensing, artificial intelligence, ground truthing and other verification methods.

Total almond acreage dropped to 1.56 million acres in 2023 from 1.64 million in 2022, according to Land iQ. Bearing acres, those planted in 2020 or earlier, increased slightly to 1.37 million acres in 2023 from 1.34 million acres the previous year. But the amount of non-bearing acres (new orchards planted in 2021, 2022 or 2023) decreased by about 105,000 acres to 189,000 acres in 2023.

Orchard removals also continue to rise, with about 83,000 acres being removed as of Aug. 31, 2023, compared to 60,400 acres in 2022.

The reduced almond acreage coupled with a lower-than-expected USDA objective crop estimate in July pushed almond prices slightly higher. Based on the

market trends, Escalon-area almond producer Herman Doornenbal Jr. said he is more optimistic.

He purchased a block of nearby ground last year that was in cereal hay. After harvest, he deep plowed it, and the ground is currently fallow.

“I’m starting to warm to the idea of putting it into trees,” he said. “The prices are trending a little bit up, but it’s what I do, I’m an almond farmer.”

Originally, Doornenbal said, he had planned to put it into alfalfa, but hay prices have grown worse.

“The guys who are taking their orchards out, a lot of them used to be row crop farmers or grow field crops, so I think a lot of them are going back to it. They’re worried about the price of almonds. They’re worried about the big investment to get into it.

“I’m convinced that the price of alfalfa is going to get worse. There’s a lot of hay being grown."

Doornenbal said he’s excited about the ground’s potential because it has never been in tree crops. That means he likely won’t have to deal with prunus replant disease, which may occur when stone fruit or almond orchards are planted in succession without proper fumigation.

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Cortez Growers Association Celebrates 100 Years of Survival and Success

By LORI FAIRCHILD | Contributing Writer

When four Japanese immigrants formed the Cortez Growers Association on April 18, 1924, electricity in the settlement was still a year away. It would be another three years before movies started to “talk,” and another four before penicillin would be discovered.

This year, Cortez Growers Association (CGA), which now represents more than 200 almond growers, celebrates its 100th anniversary, a significant milestone for any organization but even more so for one whose original membership survived years of blatant discrimination and whose membership suffered internment during World War II.

The story of CGA’s survival and success is directly attributable to its core value of always doing what’s best for the growers it serves.

“The origin made it different,” said general manager Dave Thiel. “It was a necessity for these immigrants to band together to make it. They really weren’t welcome, and they weren’t wanted. They had to band together in order to chase the American dream, which they had every right to do. From that moment, the tone of the co-op was set, and I don’t think we’ve ever departed from it.

“We’re very much member-oriented and a tight, close-knit community, and it hasn't strayed from that mantra from the beginning.”

Immigrants Band Together

In April 1924, four Japanese immigrant families decided to work together to market their grapes and fruit. The original members (Nenokichi Morofuji, Seitaro Yoneyama, Yonekichi Kuwahara and Zenshiro Yuge) were actually barred from owning land in California. The California Alien Land Law of 1913 prohibited “aliens ineligible for citizenship” from purchasing land but did allow them to procure short-term (oneto three-year) leases.

The four founding members of CGA used corporations to purchase the land, and the founding documents of CGA list those corporations as its members, not the individuals behind them.

Within a year, the co-op grew to 11 members, all Japanese immigrants, and constructed a packinghouse on land leased from the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway for $757.

Over time, growers diversified into row crops and berries as grapes became less profitable. In April 1932, Sam Kuwahara became the first full-time manager of the co-op.

War Brings Internment

When the Japanese bombs dropped on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, it sent shockwaves throughout the world, but no one would be more affected by that day than those of Japanese descent living on the west coast.

With the U.S. preparing for war and anti-Japanese sentiment rising,

the co-op membership met and elected a board made up, for the first time, of entirely American citizens. To protect the co-op, those with “alien” status were asked to withdraw their membership in favor of a joint custodial agreement. Two weeks later on Feb. 19, 1942, President Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066, which ordered that all Japanese aliens and American citizens with Japanese heritage be removed from the west coast.

“Cortez Growers, as a co-op, formed a trust that took the land that was in ownership, and the members of Cortez Growers that wanted to put their land in this trust where it would be taken care of,” said co-op member Galen Miyamoto, whose grandfather was among the early members of CGA. “When the farmers were relocated, and in this case, I think the majority went to Amache War Relocation Center in Granada in Colorado, there was a trust put together by Hugh Griswold, an attorney in Merced, Calif. Griswold hired Gus Momberg as a farm manager to manage the land within the trust. Momberg was an experienced farm manager, having worked for Bank of America during the Depression. So, they managed the farms in Cortez for three and a half years while the farmers were in the relocation camps. That allowed [the farmers] to come back to at least land. The equipment was pretty much worn out, most of

the personal property was gone, but there was still land that they could come back and start farming again. And that was because Cortez put the trust together.”

Serving with Distinction

Despite their own country stripping them of their homes and livelihoods, many young men from CGA in the internment camps chose to serve in the U.S. military as part of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, a segregated unit made up of Japanese Americans.

“They volunteered,” Miyamoto said. “My father volunteered. I think all the young Nissei, second generation Japanese Americans, volunteered to be in this army service. Their motto was “Go for Broke.” Their parents were in concentration camps, and they're fighting the war.”

The 442nd Regimental Combat Team participated in the invasion of southern France, liberating French cities. They later drove German forces out of northern Italy in coordination with 92nd Infantry Division, a segregated black unit.

The 442nd went on to become the most decorated unit for its size and length of service. Despite the racism and hardship they faced at home, the men of the 442nd, including Nissei from CGA, earned more than 4,000 Purple Hearts, 4,000 Bronze Stars, 560 Silver Star Medals, 21 Medals of Honor and seven Presidential Unit Citations.

Returning Home

After the war, members of the co-op returned home, rebuilt their lives and began farming the land again, switching from less-profitable row crops to peaches, wine grapes, almonds and walnuts. The co-op began to accept

non-Japanese members as its reputation for serving the needs of its growers through offering farm supplies, helping recruit labor and providing harvesting services began to grow.

Those harvesting services were, and still are, a big help to small growers.

From left to right: Japanese immigrant growers Nenokichi Morofuji, Seitaro Yoneyama, Yonekichi Kuwahara and Zenshiro Yuge founded the Cortez Growers Association as a nonprofit marketing association on April 18, 1924 (all photos courtesy Cortez Growers Association.)

Cortez Growers Association’s membership increased to 11 members by January 1925, and its first office/shed sat on land next to the

That tradition continues today with CGA still harvesting 3,000 acres of member-grown almonds.

Moving into Nuts

While the co-op focused primarily on fruits, row crops and other vegetables in its first 20 years, by 1946, many of its members were focusing on almonds, producing 35 tons of the nuts that year. The co-op built a huller and began helping with harvest using mechanized knockers. By 1953, the co-op and its members engaged in bulk harvesting well before the rest of the almond industry.

In February 1942, President Franklin Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, which ordered the relocation of all Japanese immigrants and those of Japanese descent to be relocated to internment camps. All members of the Cortez Growers Association were relocated to the Amache War Relocation Center in Granada, Col.

“Many joined the co-op to share equipment costs,” said Dennis Yotsuya, a co-op member whose grandfather was also an early member of the co-op. “Each small farmer couldn’t afford the equipment, so they formed a co-op to buy more expensive pieces of equipment and harvested for member growers.”

In addition, growers were increasing their walnut acreage and benefited from access to the harvesting services offered by CGA. Walnut growers could also belong to the walnut pool to access timely payment for their crop.

In 1959, CGA was once again at the front of innovation with a new dust control system to reduce the dust created by the hulling operation.

Since the 1950s, CGA has continued to grow and add members while investing in new technologies to continue to help its growers produce the best almonds at an affordable price.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the co-op invested heavily into infrastructure to help its members, including a new huller/sheller plant, an in-hull dryer and an almond meat dryer. CGA also began offering PCA services, including office hours with PCA Gary Gliddon. These evolved into the co-op’s current “Wednesday Morning Meetings” with growers that include speakers on topics relevant to growing almonds in today’s environment.

The Need to Grow

As the co-op entered the early 2000s, it became apparent that it would need to grow both in membership and in capacity.

We haven't been a very large co-op for a very long time,” Thiel said. “In 2005, the board and management recognized we needed to expand, or we were going to get left behind.

“We had to do some repairs on the plant itself, and by the time we looked at the regulations that we would have to meet with the air board here in California, we decided that if we're going to have to spend that much money on just the air, we might as well take the big leap and revamp the whole plant.”

CGA expanded the plant from a capacity of 10 million pounds to one that could handle at least 25 million pounds.

“We thought it would take us about five to six years to fill the volume and get more members and more acres,” he said. “Because the profitability in almond hulling and shelling is in volume. We went from 6 million pounds in ’04 to 24 million pounds in three years instead of five.”

With some other modifications and additions in the years since, the CGA plant now processes an average of 40 million pounds of almonds a year.

Membership also grew in those years.

“The co-op started with 13 or 14 original families then grew to 30 families or so,” Yotsuya said. “At the 75-year reunion, they were still primarily descendants of original families. Now we have over 200 members, and only five or six are descendants of the original families.”

Santa Fe Railway's tracks in Cortez, Calif.

Today, Cortez Growers Association’s operation includes a new shop, a stockpiling area and huller capacity to support processing up to 47 million meat pounds.

As CGA looks ahead to the next century, it plans to keep its members at the center of its mission.

“I’ve been involved in ag my whole life,” Thiel said. “I would say this co-op is unique in many ways. The difference between other co-ops and here is it is so involved with its membership. It is more involved than any place I’ve ever known. We have meetings every Wednesday morning. We offer more services than hulling and shelling. We offer propane for the home. We have a grower savings account. It’s very involved in the day-today operations of our membership.”

None of that happens without a great staff.

“If it wasn't for the staff that Cortez Growers has had over the last 100 years, we couldn't have done what we've done,” Miyamoto said. “We recognized seven employees who retired from Cortez Growers Association, and within those seven retirees, they accounted for 199 years of service.

“That's the reason [CGA] is still in existence today. If we didn't have a

strong staff that can run this association and run the equipment and do the management and look forward, then we wouldn't be in existence today. We're looking forward to another 100 years because if you get the right people on the team, they can do some really fantastic things.”

Even as it looks forward, CGA took a moment to celebrate its century anniversary as part of its annual dinner.

“We didn't have a big circus or anything like that,” Thiel said. “We're not that flashy. We like things simple. But we do recognize the achievement and the rarity of a co-op or a business to survive through these years, and especially this co-op with its history of the Japanese immigrants to survive the war years. Getting through that was pretty amazing.”

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A Legacy of Helping Growers

Despite that growth, CGA remains focused on helping growers.

“We still have smaller growers,” Yotsuya said. “Most of them 40 acres or less. When we expanded the co-op, we got more larger growers that expanded that volume. We started expansion in the early 2000s. Larger growers harvest their own crops, but the co-op still provides services. Cortez harvests 20,000 acres, and CGA still harvests 3,000 of those acres.”

In 1959, Cortez Growers Association invested in its first dust control system and upgraded to this new, larger baghouse in 1961 to control the dust created by the huller.

Cortez Growers Association General Manager Dave Thiel says CGA's investment in its members sets it apart.

FROM SUSTAINABILITY TO FASHION: UNLOCKING THE HIDDEN VALUE OF ALMOND BYPRODUCTS

By ALMOND BOARD OF CALIFORNIA | Contributing Writer

“We take almond orchard chippings and use our patented process to transform it into agrilose, which is an MMC pulp made from 100% agricultural waste, in this case, almond trees.” – Taylor Heisley-Cook, Hurd Co.

It’s often said that within the almond industry, four products are grown from one crop: the almond hull, shell, wood and kernel. The conversation started years ago: Are there new outlets for these coproducts, and how can we bring more value to growers?

“The Almond Board (ABC) has been investing in biomass research and finding new and more diverse ways to add value to our coproducts for six years now,” said Josette Lewis, chief scientific officer at ABC. “We’ve done some great research to show what’s technically feasible but now are focused on what’s really a possibility from a market perspective?”

In a quest to find added value and purposes for these products, ABC began working with companies in various spaces, including upcycled foods and clothing fibers, and attracting investment in manufacturing and bioenergy in California.

Over the last year, the team has also been actively engaged in finishing food safety studies and working toward FDA recognition that almond hulls are a safe food ingredient. Conversations with global food leaders like MARS and the makers of the KIND bar and providing them with samples of almond hulls will allow brands to begin exploring commercial opportunities.

To achieve success, Lewis expressed how important it will be to make the opportunity more visible to those interested in using almond coproducts, derisk the opportunity and provide information and resourc-

A Substitute Toward Sustainability

In the U.S., 1.7 trillion black horticultural pots are utilized each year. These pots are single-use and designed to last 450 to 500 years, often leading them to end up in landfills and ultimately creating an immense amount of waste.

That’s where NutJobs came in. Founder and CEO Paul Kephart said with his horticultural background, he saw a need for finding an alternative to oil-based plastics, like polystyrene, as an effort for manufactures and growers to be more environmentally conscious. He said the threat is more serious than just environmental, but also is associated with public health.

“Polystyrene takes up 35% of all our landfills, creating environmental problems and possibly health threats” he said.

In exploring a solution, he discovered the almond industry had viable products that fit the bill he was looking

for. “When I thought of the almond hull and shell, it passes two of the packaging criteria: impact resistance and thermal performance,” Kephart said.

Their current model allows them to go right into the manufacturing process, so there isn’t a huge learning curve. The design will take hulls and shells from the almond processor to a grinder facility near Turlock. Biocompounding is then performed at a larger scale, producing approximately 4,000 pounds of pellets per hour.

“We’re not actually manufacturing end-use products; we’re manufacturing the formulations in pellet form just like any other kind of plastic that goes to the customer,” he said. Those pellets can then be used by companies to create the pots, just like how they are using plastic to do so now.

“If we can get close to parody with the current oil-based products, that’s a win for everyone,” he said. “That means great amount of adoption and greater volumes of application.”

Nutjobs Inc. is repurposing almond and other nutshell waste into biodegradable pellets (right), which can produce horticultural pots (left).

es to successfully craft a business case using almond coproducts.

Re-Nut's application processes nuts in-shell to create three products (flour, milk/drink and oil) with the additional nutritional value of the shell.

Shelling Out Food Solutions

The food sector is another area where almond byproducts are bound to have an obvious fit. Re-Nut, a Swissbased food technology startup uses proprietary manufacturing processes to utilize in-shell almonds to product multiple food products.

Co-founder and CEO Roland Laux said their scope of work has included coffee, herbs and spices, and chocolate, and now they’ve recently turned their attention to the “huge category” of nuts.

The process includes taking the whole nut, including the kernel and shell, adding water and milling to produce a slurry. The slurry then goes through a decanter to separate the solids (almond flour),

from the liquid (almond drink), from the oil (almond fat).

Laux explained nut processors will also reap the benefits of utilizing raw almond materials. They can expect an increase of yield (boost of yield per pound of raw materials), lower costs (less raw materials and processing costs), product innovation and renovation (high fiber, antioxidants, clean label, sugar reduction), and environmental sustainability (improvement of sustainability footprint).

The hope of Re-Nut is to convert these outputs into standalone products, like the almond drink, or implement them into already-loved foods like bakery items, spreads and ice cream.

“We just obtained the regulatory approval for commercializing these products in the U.S.,” Laux said. “Our purpose is to bring this beautiful almond with the shell into the nutritional cycle.”

From Farms to Fabrics

Clothing made from almonds, now that’s a wild concept, right? Believe it or not, it’s not that farfetched. Taylor Heisley-Cook and her team at The Hurd Co. are rooted in making clothes from agri-waste.

“When most people reach for their favorite t-shirt, they don’t often think about what it’s made from, but the apparel industry relies on so much land and water every year to grow

The Hurd Co.’s patented zero-waste process creates fiber pulp converted to a fiber they call agrilose (left), which then can be made into Lyocell (right) to make clothing.

plants, specifically for apparel produc tion,” Heisley-Cook said. “By 2030, that demand is expected to double, which is not possible.”

Their philosophy is land and water should be prioritized for food growth, and in turn, the by-products from those systems can be repurposed to make clothes.

The apparel industry currently uti lizes natural, synthetic and manmade cellulosic (MMC) fibers for today’s apparel. MMC fibers are made from a specific type of tree grown exclusively for apparel, and it’s a growing industry, expecting to reach $60 billion by 2028.

“We take almond orchard chippings and use our patented process to trans form it into agrilose, which is an MMC pulp made from 100% agricultural waste, in this case, almond trees,” she said.

They’ve been able to produce it at the same quality and price as traditional pulp. Being a closed-loop system, they have a zero-emissions process that uses half as much water and 90% less energy than traditional pulping technology.

They’ve successfully made fiber from agrilose and are now working to opti mize the production system to produce clothing fabric.

Creating the Innovation Environment

Beam Circular is a nonprofit organization working to connect the dots between innovators, government, large-scale businesses, the ag industry and communities to ignite real action in the byproduct innovation space. They intentionally work in Stanislaus, Merced and San Joaquin counties. Not only are the top global agricultural leaders grouped in these counties, but the Bay Area is also next door, providing the biotechnology and innovation resources needed for success.

“We are seizing this opportunity through public-private collaboration and the launch of what we call the bioeconomy, agriculture and manufacturing, or BEAM, initiative,” said Karen Warner, CEO of Beam Circular. “Our work really takes place as a portfolio of projects, strategies and programs, all of which are designed to be a supportive environment and ecosystem for companies and innovators.”

Web-Spinning Spider Mites Gained Footholds in Almond and Walnut

By CECILIA PARSONS | Associate Editor

Extremely hot weather in July and more heat in August increased water stress and spurred pest mite populations in many almond and walnut orchards over the summer, causing an increase in premature defoliation in some orchards. As growers enter a new season, those pressures should serve as a reminder for growers to keep web-spinning mites in check.

Sudan Gyawaly, a UCCE area integrated pest management advisor in Butte, Glen, Tehama, Colusa and Sutter-Yuba Counties, said web-spinning spider mites gained a foothold in orchards this year, causing widespread infestations. Severe defoliation in walnuts can result in sunburn nuts and loss or quality. Premature and severe defoliation of almond and walnut trees can have a negative effect on next year’s crop yields and reduce vegetative growth.

Franz Niederholzer, UCCE orchard systems advisor in Colusa, Sutter and Yuba counties, said the heat wave in July plus more heat in August produced water stress, increasing pest mite populations in many almond and walnut orchards in the region. Disease and/or water stress can also cause trees to prematurely drop leaves, but he said poor orchard economics may have influenced mite control decisions, with some growers delaying or perhaps skipping mite control. In addition, aggressive navel orangeworm control programs in almond orchards may have reduced beneficial insect and mite numbers, contributing to the increased

spider mite pressures this year.

Treatment decisions should be based on thresholds of numbers of mites and their predators. Cultural controls, including oil or water on roadways and planting ground cover can reduce dust which contributes to mite infestations. Just treating hot spots is another option. Selecting insecticides and/or miticides with limited to no impact on beneficials is also an important step in spider mite integrated pest management. See ipm. ucanr.edu/agriculture/ for comparison of impacts of different pesticides on non-pest insects and mites.

Female Mites Overwinter as Adults

Several species of web-spinning mites can cause tree defoliation as they suck cell contents from leaves. Gyawaly said among several mites species occurring in orchards, Pacific spider mites and Two-spotted spider mites, two web-spinning spider mites, are the main destructive species in almond and walnut. For these species, females overwinter as adults under tree bark, in ground litter or on winter weeds.

In spring, the overwintering females begin feeding on leaves. Colonies develop on the underside of leaves and move to the upper sides as populations build. Overwintering Pacific and two-spotted mite females are reddish-orange. In-season, the adult mites are usually yellow to green in color. Eggs are spherical and translucent at first then become opaque. Immature mites molt three times before becoming adults. In

Remember the treatment threshold and use the proper sampling protocol to help preserve beneficials as much as possible.

the first stage, mites have six legs and later stages and adults have eight legs. Niederholzer said mites will reproduce rapidly in hot weather and without control (biological or chemical), and populations can flare in June and July. With optimal temperatures and a food supply, a generation can be produced in seven days.

Clusters of brown leaves are the first sign of building mite infestations in an orchard. High numbers of mites produce visible webbing.

Monitoring orchards for pest mite populations should begin in March, Gyawaly said. Scouting every two weeks from March to early May, particularly if mite pressure was high the previous year, and once a week after that is advised. Scouting involves not only inspecting leaves for pest mites but also for predators which can keep pest mites under control.

Spider mite predators in orchards, including western predatory mite, six-spotted thrips and spider mite destroyer, are all biological controls, but their numbers may not build until spider mite numbers are high. Use of broad-spectrum insecticides (especially pyrethroids) at a critical time of predatory mite population growth will impact this biological control.

Common Predators

According to UC IPM guidelines, six-spotted thrips are the most common predator of spider mites. Six-spotted thrips are very mobile and

both nymphs and adults feed on spider mites. Adults are about 1/8-inch (3 mm) long and pale yellow to whitish. Adults have long, hairlike fringes on the margins of their wings. At rest, three dark spots are apparent on each whitish forewing; these six dark wing spots on a pale yellow to whitish thrips distinguishes this species from other thrips. Six-spotted thrips larva is translucent white to yellowish.

Western predatory mite can be distinguished from pest mites by the color difference and its lack of the dark blotches. It also takes on the color of its prey after feeding on reddish colored spider mites. It is also smaller than other predator mites.

Predator mites are also shaped differently than pest mites as spider mites are broader in the front compared to predatory mites that are broader at the rear and more active.

The spider mite destroyer is actually a beetle. The adults are black and about 1/16-inch (1.5 mm) long. They may appear greyish due to presence of tiny, pale hairs. Destroyer eggs are oval, about 1/64-inch (0.4 mm) long. They are pale yellow to white when laid then turn gray and become black before hatching.

The larva is oblong and dark brown to gray when young. It is covered with numerous, minute, branched hairs. As the larva matures, it becomes reddish, at first on the edges of the body; just prior to pupation, the entire larva turns reddish.

Pupae are oblong or oval when viewed from above and flattened when

viewed from the side. They are covered with tiny, pale hairs and, depending on maturity, vary in color from black to brown, gray or reddish.

Spider mite destroyers feed on all stages of spider mites. Adults and larvae can each consume 75 mites per day. Adults fly and more where mites are abundant.

Sampling Can Determine Infestation Levels

Sampling leaves will help determine extent of spider mite infestation and presence of predators.

The protocol outlined in the UC IPM Guidelines said the within each sampling area, from a minimum of five trees, select 15 leaves from both the inside and outside of the canopy. Both sides of each leaf should be examined for spider mites and eggs, Western predatory mites and eggs, six-spotted thrips and other predators. The number of leaves with pest mites or eggs and the number of leaves with predators should be counted.

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Using a hand lens, look for mite activity on the top and underside of leaves, noting presence or absence of spider mites and predators, Gyawaly advised. Recommended guidelines are as follows:

• If no predators are present, treatments should be made if about 30% of leaves have spider mites on them.

• If predators are present, treatments can be held off until about 50% of the leaves are infested.

• 5 trees, 75 leaves, no treat if ≤27, treat ≥40, continue sampling in between (in presence of predator)

• 5 trees, 75 leaves, no treat if ≤12, treat if ≥24, continue sampling in between (in absence of predators)

As the new season develops a disciplined sampling protocol can keep spider mite infestations at bay for 2025.

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From the Orchard Savors the Adventure of Farming THERESA SCHNEIDER

By LORI FAIRCHILD | Contributing Writer

Theresa Schneider, a fourth-generation grower who co-owns A&J Family Farms, Inc. in Chico, Calif. with her mom Janet, does it all on her 200-acre family farm.

“It's me, myself and I out in the field,” she said.

While her husband and children help, the farm is her business. Schneider didn’t set out to be a grower; she went to school to be an ag teacher but came back to the farm after college to help with the paperwork side of things. She quickly started working in the fields with her dad and took over when he died.

Being a woman in ag comes with some challenges like people assuming her husband is the one in charge, but Schneider loves what she does.

“I'm definitely the minority when I'm attending grower days, meetings and events,” she said. “But I like the adventure of farming.”

Schneider shared her thoughts on the state of the tree nut industry, what it’s like to be a woman in ag and how family farms can survive in the current industry landscape in an interview with West Coast Nut.

Q. Tell us a little bit about your farming operation and how you started farming.

I am here in Butte County, and I farmed with my dad when he was alive. I farmed with him for 15 or so years before he passed, and we farmed primarily walnuts. I farm land that has been in my family for generations. While my mom co-owns the company with me, I handle the day-to day operations. It's

Although her husband TJ and daughters Emma and Holly often help out on the farm, Theresa Schneider, co-owner of A&J Family Farms, Inc., does the vast majority of the work on her 200-acre family farm, having taken over the day-to-day operations after her father died (all photos courtesy T. Schneider.)

me, myself and I out in the field. My husband has a job off the farm, but he helps me as well when he gets home from that job or on the weekends. If something breaks down, he's there to fix it.

Q. How long did your dad have the farm?

My father farmed for over 30 years with his brothers and then split the operation in 2000. He went on by himself, and I helped day by day, starting out small. When he passed away, I took over the day-to-day operations.

Q. What drew you into farming?

Well, I actually went to school to be an ag teacher. I'm kind of glad I didn’t. There was a need when I graduated from college, mainly on the office end of things, the bookkeeping side. There’s a lot of paperwork in farming, and my dad, being of the older generation, didn’t want to deal with it. So, I handled it all. There was a need for me to come back. My mom would do the books when she was not working her full-time job. As time progressed, I would help in the office while my daughters were little and then out in the orchards when they went to school.

Over time, through my participation in the farming operation, I started making decisions. I was always going to do something in agriculture. Like I said, I wanted to do education, but I felt the need to come back to the farm. My husband works outside of the farm, and when we got mar-

As a woman in ag, Theresa Schneider sometimes faces challenges unique to being a woman in a male-dominated field, but she loves the challenge and working with her hands.

ried and decided to have kids, I wanted them to be with me and be around the farm and the next generation.

Q. Do your kids have any interest in continuing?

I have two daughters, 15 and 17. They definitely help when we need extra hands, especially in the summer. I could see my youngest possibly taking over in some capacity, but I’m not entirely sure.

Q. Talk about being a woman in ag and what that looks like.

It's very rare, especially in our area. It's definitely challenging. Sometimes I find myself still being known as Theresa Bertagna more than Theresa Schneider, just because that's

But I like the challenge. I like working with my hands. I was out spraying this morning, so for me, it's a fulfilling part of my life. I could never just be one thing. The unknown can sometimes be fun but also stressful. It's nice to be able to say I can be at my daughter's softball game because I can make my own schedule and be flexible. So being a woman in ag is difficult, but it's also very rewarding because I’m doing something not everyone does.

Q. You grew up on the farm, so talk a little about how farming practices have changed over the years.

Well, I grew up moving aluminum pipes during the summer. That’s definitely changed. We’re using soil moisture monitors now. I look at maps and weather reports a lot more than was ever used before. My dad started getting into that, but not as much as I do now. Technology has obviously advanced us, but sometimes we rely on it too much. We have all these great programs for farming, but you still have to be physically present in the orchard. You can't just rely on tech alone.

Q. What are three things that keep you up at night related to growing nuts?

The price of the commodity is huge right now. We’re hoping for an increase, but nothing is guaranteed. Water is another big concern because, although we live on wells, you never know what will happen. The third thing would be the stress of whether the next generation will continue farming, or if we’re doing all this just for us, rather than passing it on.

Q. We hear from a lot of growers that one of their biggest stresses is whether their kids will continue farming. Do you have any thoughts on how to retain the next generation?

I think it comes down to work ethic. Getting your hands dirty, working out in the fields or orchards, and being actively involved is key. There’s a disconnect with the next generation; I don’t think they want to put in the same level of work that we’ve put in.

Q. What are you most hopeful for in the future, as far as tree nut growing goes?

I hope we can still sell our product, and that this will carry on. Some of our orchards have been in the family for generations, and I’d like to see that continue, though I’m not sure in what capacity. But I think there’s hope in that.

Q. When you think about the future, what do you think needs to happen to make commodity prices go up and make farming viable for the next generation? What’s your solution?

Oh gosh, my magic solution? I think the new Walnut Commission is doing a good job of trying to change the way people think about walnuts, making them a year-round product, not just something for the holidays.

My magic solution would be some kind of government subsidies. We’re in a three-year deficit with walnuts right

Theresa Schneider co-owns A&J Family Farms with her mom where she farms 200 acres of mostly walnuts on her family's land. While Schneider is a proponent of soil moisture monitoring and other technology, she says there's no substitute for being out on the land.

now, and we’ve gotten a little help, but not enough to really save us. Most farmers are good savers, but our rainy-day funds are running out.

We need to figure out how to make people understand farmers are the most sustainable industry. We’re not wasting water or land; we’re growing a product that people need. There needs to be more clarity about why farmers are here and what we’re doing, and we need to be compensated fairly for it.

Q. Can you talk about the water situation?

Luckily, we have wells, and so far, nothing has dried out, knock on wood. But we’re being monitored more and more. In the future, we’ll have to have monitoring on our wells, tracking how much water we’re using.

We’re not the kind of people who use water unnecessarily. We use it as efficiently as possible. My concern is the government may regulate us so much that we can’t do what’s best for our trees, farms, and fields. I just hope the regulations don’t shut us down.

Q. The idea of sustainable or regenerative farming is a big deal these days. Have you put any of those practices, like cover crops, into your orchards?

We really haven't diverted a lot into it because most of our older orchards have such a dense canopy that there’s not enough sunlight for cover crops. In the younger orchards, it just depends on the soil type and what was there before. If we can get in there and do a little cover crop, we try to.

I had a field last year where we did some hay just because it was over 30 years of partly orchards, so we tried to do that. But most of our everyday fields aren't able to support cover crops.

Q. What do you think the biggest assets are of the tree nut industry in California?

The biggest asset is that most of the industry is still made up of family farms. That’s how everything started, and those family farms need to continue through the generations.

I feel like the industry, especially in Northern California where we are, is still a lot of family farms, not big corpora tions. I hope that connection gets out there more and helps people in the community understand we’re everyday people growing agricultural commodities they consume.

Schneider didn't always want to take over the family farm. She went to college to be an ag teacher but made her way back to the farm when her dad needed some help with the farm paperwork. From there, she started spending time in the orchards, learning what she needed to know to run the farm from her dad.

Q. What would you say is your proudest achievement when it comes to farming?

That we're still here, still going strong. My proudest achievement is I’ve learned enough from work ing with my dad, my uncles and my grandpa, and I can continue the farm as a female farmer.

Q. What kind of advice would you give to a young woman getting into the tree nut industry today?

Keep your head on your shoulders, look to the future,

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Theresa

My proudest achievement is I’ve learned enough from working with my dad, my uncles and my grandpa, and I can continue the farm as a female farmer.”

– Theresa Schneider, grower

I am a youth Grange livestock leader, which is like a 4-H program. I've been involved in Grange for years, even before I had kids, and I enjoy working with the youth and helping them see the future.

I’m also on the school board at my daughters' school, CORE Butte Charter. I recently got accepted into the next class of the California Ag Leadership Program, and I hope to find a new avenue to get involved through that.

Q. Who was your biggest influence or mentor?

My dad. The most important thing he taught me was hard work. Being a hard worker and never giving up. Just keep trying, keep hustling, keep going.

Q. If you had to pick one thing in the last 20 years that’s made a big advancement for how you manage or work on the farm, what would it be?

I think the biggest advancement has been the soil monitoring systems and irrigation tracking. We can track irrigation and the amount of water getting into the orchard, which is huge. You can go back over the summer and see how much water was used and when. I don’t rely solely on that, but it’s definitely a major advancement.

Q. What kind of advancements do you see in the future, specifically for the family farm?

Honestly, I don’t know what else we can really do on a family farm to make things more efficient. I mean, our tractors are efficient, our equipment is efficient. It would be nice if some of the equipment was a little more budget-friendly. Small family farms are trying to get by on a very small budget, so we’re doing what we can.

Q. Talk about the landscape for the family farmer compared to big corporate farms. How do you compete in that world?

I think, and I’m not necessarily in a position to do it, but a lot of them are trying to diversify more and not have all their eggs in one basket. I’ll probably end up planting some almonds in a couple of orchards instead of staying with just

grow up on the farm was important to her.

walnuts, so we can diversify a little down the road. We really have to think outside the box and diversify, or maybe take on an extra manager or extra job someplace to balance things out. We can’t solely rely on just farming small acreage.

Q. I was talking to someone previously, and they were saying their parents sent four kids to college on a 200-acre farm, which isn’t possible anymore. My parents did that. They sent me and my sister to really good schools, and I just think, “I don’t know how to do that right now.” Everything’s gone up, chemical prices, everything, but our commodity prices haven’t. So, trying to farm and keep the orchard healthy on a very tight budget is very difficult.

We’re just trying to get by, but with two active teenage daughters and a husband who works off the farm (because it’s my family farm, not his), it’s a different dynamic than most people think. Most people assume he’s the one carrying on the farm, but it’s mine.

He’s very supportive, though. He’s the "all-of-the-above" helper when things break down, and he fixes them for me. I’m not as mechanically inclined as I’d like to be, but I can get by.

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Theresa Schneider and her husband, TJ, enjoy raising the next generation on Theresa's family farm. While Theresa is unsure if either of her daughters will want to take over the farm, having them

California Walnut Industry Identifies Priorities for Market Resilience and Grower Prosperity

By CECILIA PARSONS | Associate Editor

The California walnut industry isn’t going to pick up their marbles and go home.

Instead, after a couple tough years, there are goals and objectives in place to secure long term market resilience and grower prosperity.

Christine Lott, director of integrated communication for the California Walnut Commission (CWC), said the industry plan, put together with extensive grower and stakeholder input, has six priorities:

1. Delivering the best-quality product

2. Activating sales domestically and in target international markets

3. Fostering innovation

4. Defining our sustainability story

5. Supporting goal-oriented production and postharvest research

6. Building industry cohesion

“The California walnut industry as a whole identified key issues and challenges they face not only today but also in the future, and together with the [California Walnut Board and Commission] identified a host of corrective actions and priority areas for action in the short and long term, which some are already underway,” Lott said.

She added a focus of the industry is to provide the best walnuts all the way to the consumer, including better handling of walnuts through the supply chain, and continued demand-building initiatives that increase consumption and drive sales and velocity.

‘’We are working to make walnuts more relevant to consumers as a nut for everyday eating occasions. Working with retail partners, we are bringing visibility and excitement to walnuts in produce with expanded offerings of package size options, flavors and more walnut products in different forms, which research shows

California Walnut Board and Commission have outlined a strategic plan focused on six key priorities to build resilience for walnut growers (all photos courtesy California Walnut Board and Commission.)

The new initiatives for the walnut industry aim to overcome current challenges, improve walnut quality through better handling, expand market reach with government support and innovate new walnut products.

Growers play a significant role, particularly in sustainability efforts and adapting to new technologies, in strengthening the industry's resilience and long-term prosperity.

are key motivators to consumers. In addition, we are working in foodservice and food innovation to showcase the versatility of walnuts in many cuisines and dayparts.”

Priorities

The six priorities start with determination to deliver the best-quality product, with a new focus on addressing four significant contributors to improve walnut shelf life and reduce rancidity: color, chemical, transport and storage recommendations.

Handlers are experimenting with new automated visual grading machines to deliver standardized color measurements and reporting. Recommendations for best practices for transportation and storage and higher-quality standards were developed in 2023. This included recommended maximum limits for Peroxide Value and Free Fatty Acid and refrigeration guidance for walnut shipments and storage after May 1.

To increase sales domestically, CWC has invested in retail scan data to develop strategies to improve sales volumes of California walnuts at retail. The data will enable the monitoring of retail sales growth, develop promotional programs for retailers and share best practices in walnut merchandising with the goal of driving sales, larger display sizes and improved placement for fresh California walnuts at retail.

The industry is also working to expand distribution and sales globally. Earlier this year, CWC was awarded $7 million from USDA’s Regional Agriculture Promotions Program for export market development in countries in Southeast Asia and Northern Africa. This additional funding will allow the industry to expand programs into new markets as well as boost consumer and trade activities in core strategic export markets.

Lott said, “This additional funding will allow the industry to expand programs into new markets as well as boost consumer and trade activities in our core strategic export markets, with the overarching goal to drive distribution, consumer demand and consumption of high-quality California walnuts in more markets globally.”

Fostering Innovation

The intention in fostering innovation aims to drive commercialization of new product ideas and explore proof of concept for craveable products using California walnuts. Led by the California Walnut Board and CWC, they will provide leadership, build value and create opportunities for walnuts as a more valuable ingredient in food products for foodservice, culinary and in food manufacturing.

Measure to Improve, a firm that specializes in helping produce companies navigate sustainability, is assisting CWC in evaluating existing industry sustainability areas and identifying knowledge and data gaps. Work is planned to develop a sustainability index that will demonstrate the California walnut industry is dedicated to sustainable production.

Goal-oriented research is a shift by the industry to develop a new roadmap for walnut related production and postharvest research, aimed at solving challenges in the field, in processing and storage, and in the context of international market growth, which will enable improved quality, lowered costs and increased efficiencies. Several CWC-endorsed projects include USDA Specialty Crop grants being used to investigate conversion of walnut shells to high value prebiotic products for human health. UC Davis researchers are evaluating evapotranspiration estimation, comparing ground-based with satellite measurements to enhance water management. Another UC Davis project is implementing smart wireless technology to reduce chemical use in storage and preservation of product quality with early detection of insects.

Davin Norene, a Yuba-Sutter counties walnut grower, and participant in the commission’s strategic planning efforts, said CWC’s objectives are meant to engage every facet of the industry.

“Every part of the industry has a role to play in addressing these priorities,” Norene said.

“It starts with the growers, keeping up with technology, letting go of some older varieties. Growers can also be a face of the industry, tell their stories about walnut farming to the public,” he added.

Growers Involved

Growers can also be involved in the sustainability objective, telling consumers what they are already doing in their orchards and the benefits for their communities, workers and the environment.

These positive approaches are in contrast to a proposed orchard pullout program. There was some industry interest last year to seek funding for a program that would incentivize removal of orchards. However, CWC declined to pursue USDA funding for a tree removal program, believing pulling out highly productive walnut trees to reduce oversupply wasn’t in the best interest of the walnut industry.

Willows walnut grower Leslie Nerli noted decisions to pull out trees are extremely difficult and expensive to make but was relieved the program was not offered to growers as less productive orchards are already being removed.

“The only other thing to support our industry through these very tough times would be for growers to do business with handlers that have built the infrastructure to maintain the quality of the product all the way through the supply chain on a year-round basis.” Nerli said. “Those same handlers must also be investing in marketing efforts that tie directly with end consumers around the world, providing them with a consistent California-grown quality product in whatever form they desire. These handlers have spent a lot of money to make our industry strong now and for our future.”

Norene was optimistic as this year’s harvest began. Growers who farmed for yield and quality are expected to see better returns this year. Timed fertilizer applications and use of pressure chambers to determine when to irrigate can be helpful tools to maintain crop quality, he said. For growers watching input costs, well timed ethephon applications can help with uniform hull split.

“If you have harvest lined up, they can shake, sweep and pick up quick to preserve quality,” Noreen said.

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Optimizing Potassium Applications and Timing in Perennial Crops

By KRISTIN PLATTS | Digital Content Writer

Soil surface

pools 8-13 can also be lost through erosion ( uxes not shown)

Depth of rooting volume

input

Potassium cycle for perennial crops like tree nuts. Growers should ask themselves in terms of their annual crop requirement how much is needed for growth, whether the pool meets the requirement and if it can be replenished with their annual application. Image credit - Stephen Vasquez.

Potassium plays a crucial role in the essential plant processes of perennial crops, helping crops like tree nuts to regulate water uptake and usage, enhance photosynthesis and improve nutrient transportation. It’s also particularly important for kernel development, quality and yield.

A panel discussion at September’s Crop Consultant Conference in Visalia, Calif. focused on a variety of potassium-related issues. Moderator Stephen Vasquez, executive director of Administrative Committee for Pistachios and a CCA, said it’s important to consider the short- and long-term

impacts of fertilizer decisions regarding potassium to maximize applications, since potassium, like many other fertilizers, isn’t cheap. He said meeting with your agronomy team, employees, farm advisor and CCA to review lab results and identify solutions, whether through products

1. K inputs

2. Harvested plant K

5. Leached K

8. Soil solution K

13. K in neoformed secondary minerals

11. Interlayer K in micas and partially weathered micas 12. Structural K in feldspars 9. Surfaceadsorbed K 10. Interlayer K in secondary layer silicates 3. Open burning losses of K

Time scale: a cropping season Spatial scale: cumulative rooting valume for crop

4. Erosion and runo losses of K

6. Plant K

7. Unharvested plant K

or different strategies, to improve potassium applications are all things to keep in mind, as well as the four Rs (right product, right rate, right time and right place).

Soil Health and Potassium Availability

Panelists were asked how they would describe poor or unhealthy soil when it comes to potassium availability. Fresno County UCCE Nuts Crop Farm Advisor Mae Culumber, who primarily works with almond, pistachio and walnut, explained unhealthy soil is soil that is unable to support plant growth and productivity due to factors like nutrient deficiencies, such as low potassium. She also noted compacted soil and low organic matter further hinder root growth and nutrient movement, reducing plant health and yields.

“Something else is the exchange capacity of the soil, and then if the soils have a tendency to fix potassium,” she said. “So those would be the characteristics that would constitute a poor or unhealthy soil.”

Paul Giboney, ranch agronomist with Hronis Inc., noted in addition to soil issues like poor moisture availability and poor preparation for planting, there might also be soil pests, which make fumigation important. He added fixation, which makes nutrients less available to the crop, is also important to consider.

When unhealthy soil struggles to supply adequate potassium to plants, even if it contains sufficient amounts of the nutrients, the structure of the soil plays a critical role as potassium moves through the soil via diffusion, according to Ehsan Toosi, director of research and development for True Organic Products.

He explained if the soil is compacted or has poor pore connectivity, potassium may be trapped and unable to reach plant roots, which limits its effectiveness despite being present in the soil, so addressing soil structure is essential to ensure proper nutrient movement and availability for healthy plant growth.

“Another example is when you have, and this is a chemical attribute, when you have sodium, which competes with potassium in terms of plant uptake, or soil that is poor in organic matter, so they cannot retain or capture potassium, so you have a lot of losses,” Toosi said.

Excess Potassium

Overabundance of potassium can also present challenges, noted Vasquez, who asked panelists to discuss the implications of managing soil with excessive potassium levels.

Culumber explained that although soil may contain high levels of potassium, the amount available to plants depends on its soluble and exchangeable forms. She said soils derived from the Sierra can have high potassium content due to their mineral composition, but it weathers very slowly, so while a lab may tell you there’s an abundance of potassium, it’s not necessarily in an available form.

“But if you're talking about what you would see in a soil test in terms of exchangeable potassium, I know it varies with different crops, but probably if you're somewhere above 100 to 150 parts per million, that would be considered abundant,” Culumber said.

Growers should ask themselves in terms of their annual crop requirement how much is needed for growth, whether the pool meets the requirement, and if it can be replenished with their annual application, she added.

Giboney noted the importance of timing in meeting plant nutrient needs, pointing out the rate at which soil releases potassium may not align with the plant's demand, so even if a soil test shows high potassium levels, the plant could still experience deficiencies if the nutrient is not released quickly enough to meet its growth stages.

Other things to consider, he said, would be the state of availability of other cations that might compete with potassium, or their availability might be impacted by potassium.

“And oftentimes you can have soils with a lot of potassium and have a reduced infiltration rate, so that would

Stephen Vasquez, executive director of the Administrative Committee for Pistachios, emphasized the importance of considering both short- and longterm impacts of fertilizer decisions while moderating a panel on potassium in orchard crops at the Crop Consultant Conference (photo by K. Platts.)

UCCE Farm Advisor Mae Culumber speaks about potassium in orchard crops, alongside Hronis Inc.’s Paul Giboney, during a panel session at the Crop Consultant Conference in September (photo by K. Platts.)

“I know it varies with different crops, but probably if you're somewhere above 100 to 150 parts per million, that would be considered abundant.”

—Mae Culumber, UCCE

need to be managed, perhaps through applications of gypsum or compost or both,” Giboney said.

Soil and Tissue Analysis

When looking at the various analysis methods for determining potassium needs in plants, each has its specific applications, advantages and limitations. Toosi explained while soil and tissue tests can provide a good picture of a plant's potassium status when done correctly, more advanced methods like SAP analysis may not be practical for routine use because they can be too invasive or too costly for regular testing.

“I would say soil and tissue still are adequate enough as long as we follow the protocols,” he said.

While Giboney agreed those were good tools, he said he wouldn’t hang his hat on them.

“In addition to using those and following those measurements over time would be in-field observations and determining the amount of potassium that's being recommended, enough to replace what's being utilized by the crop,” Giboney said. “Research by Conradie suggests we could put on 16% of potassium needed by grapevines before bloom.”

Culumber said it’s important to understand soil characteristics like cation exchange capacity (CEC) and texture when managing potassium applications. For heavy clay soils with high CEC, a single postharvest application might be enough to meet potassium needs for the year, but sandy soils or those prone to potassium fixation might require smaller, more frequent applications. In almond and pistachio, she explained, tissue analysis thresholds around 1.6% are useful for postharvest application guidance. If tissue potassium levels exceed 1.8%, that won’t necessarily increase your yield, and it could lead to calcium or magnesium deficiencies.

“I actually saw that in the field this week where soil analysis was 400 parts per million of exchangeable K, and they had severe magnesium deficiency,” she said.

Some signs of potassium deficiency in pistachios (photo by M. Culumber.)

Timing, Applications and Amendments

The panel highlighted the importance of multiple smaller applications for sandy or potassium-fixing soils and explored the use of foliar applications as a supplement during critical growth stages. Giboney said there are several products available for potassium issues that need to be addressed.

“In my experience, especially when we're trying to do a little bit of correction and some maintenance, we might use potassium sulfate banded down a drip row, blended with green waste compost and maybe some gypsum,” he said, noting it should be done as close to the start of the season as possible to give the soil less time to fix the potassium.

He added it’s an approach from several different angles rather than just one simple product.

Regarding timing, Culumber noted uptake in pistachio specifi-

cally will be better when the leaves are newly developing, but signs of possible deficiency may show up later in the season.

Vasquez noted an experience he had working with a grower to correct a variety of issues that ultimately came down to using a combination of products paired with right timing.

“I don't know how he's doing this year but, timing is everything, and then availability, and making sure you have the right combination of products I think is very important,” he said.

The panelists also addressed the use of organic amendments, such as compost and green waste, to enhance potassium availability by improving soil structure and moisture retention. Toosi suggested if your budget and operation allow for it, 25% to 30% of your key nutrients could come from green waste, composted manure or pelletized fertilizers.

“And the reason is that, No. 1, you raise nutrient use efficacy, but also you bring carbon to the system, you bring different forms of nutrients,” he said, “That's not true for potassium because it's always K+, unlike plus, but like nitrogen or phosphorus, you bring organic forms which are slow release... you basically put them through the biological loop, which is consistent with the concept of soil health.”

But Giboney warned certain amendments (e.g., animal manures) may introduce things you don’t want to add to the soil, such as unwanted salts.

“So that could be something to be cautious of,” he said.

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Co me see u s a t Booths 2008-2009 at World Ag Expo 202 5, February 11-13, 2025

Plan for Greater Solubility of Nutrients In-Season at the Proper Time

By RICH KREPS | CCA, SSp., Contributing Writer

Hypothetically, let’s say you had a really long day (you’re growers and consultants, of course you did.) You were running sun-up to sundown, full throttle, on three cups of coffee and no time for lunch. You are so tired after a shower you can’t even eat. How do you feel the next day? Now imagine you hear there is a lockdown and you’re stuck in your house for a week. What’s in the cupboard, freezer or fridge? How’s that variety of food? What do you have to choose from, canned, dry or frozen? Now imagine you just received notice the water will only be on once every 10 days, and your storage capacity is limited. How are you going to feel in a month? How about two?

Now imagine you’re a tree. That’s been your life for 6 months; however, you can’t even move around the house. You take what you can get. You are dependent on what the soil may give you and what the grower may supplement it with, but you don’t have much control over it. What if you want/need calcium but Mr. Grower loaded your soil up with potassium. Now let’s do some math.

I’ll round off for simplicity: UAN-32 at approximately 10 pounds per gallon. Fifty gallons applied in season. One hundred and fifty-“ish” pounds total weight of nitrogen. We are told 400 pounds of sulfate of potash times 50% K give us the 200 pounds needed for an average crop. Phosphorous mixed in some sort of glorious triple mix; at 15%, 20 gallons per season assuming a decent efficacy ought to do it. 30 pounds of P. Don’t forget the calcium and sulfur: 2 tons of gypsum applied last fall, 4000 pounds, perfect. Let’s say we add 3 tons of compost to the formula. 6000 more pounds.

I’m sure I’m forgetting a bunch of the magic pixie dust that’s in your special mix to give you the farming advantage, but you get the gist. Now let’s compare it to water. Three and a half acre-feet

applied, 325,000 gallons of water per acre-foot, 8 pounds of water per gallon. Carry the one, add the decimals, quantum physics and we get 9.1 million pounds of water.

Rich, what the heck is your point? Counting all the dry mixes and the equivalent weights of the liquid percentages, we applied 10,580 pounds of dry nutrients with 9.1 million pounds of water. A measly 1% of the water weight applied compared to the applied weight of the nutrition, that constitutes a decent portion (20% to 30%) of your farming budget every year.

If you’re religious, and I am, it seems to me the Almighty plays a much bigger role in our crops than the guy recommending the nutrition or even the guy applying it. Getting it right is very difficult. It often doesn’t take much in the grand scheme of things, and you better have a calculated method to your madness to make it available.

Nutrient demand curves should play a huge role in what we apply and when. Most of our crops have research on them that can be found online that documents to the best of our testing ability today what is needed and when. High calcium demand periods will be affected by high application rates of potassium and vice versa. We need calcium all season; however, most of us apply the bulk of it in the fall and hope 10 inches of rain and 3.5 acre-feet of water will make enough available in-season. With 5000 parts per million in the soil on the westside, why are we ever deficient? We are often deficient in P in the spring because we didn’t apply enough postharvest fertility in the fall. P works way better when the soils are warm than in the spring when they are cold. And fertigating through tons of the gypsum that is still on the berms ties up way too much to be effective any time before July! We don’t need as much at that time anymore.

Formulating a nutrient plan is somewhat like being the cook in the kitchen for your trees (AI generated photo.)

Back to the God factor. The microbiologist Dr. Sidhu, who did so much work for decades for us at Ultra Gro, was dedicated to soil health. He came up with strains of biology he showed to be effective for making nutrients more efficient in the soil. He used to call the biology in the soil the “cooks in the kitchen.” The soil was our kitchen. Nutrients were the groceries. Carbon was the pots and the pans. Enzymatic reactions were the recipes. Mother Nature makes those cooks so much more effective if the recipes have exactly what they need, in the amounts they need at the right time. Since trees can’t move, we must make the wetting patterns (where the roots are concentrated) more balanced to the needs of the trees at that physiological time. That takes a plan.

Plan for greater solubility of the nutrients you will need in-season at the proper time the trees need it. Sometimes, that means applying one nutrient foliarly while applying another through fertigation. I recommend adding prebiotics and probiotics to your soil after detrimental applications like pesticides, herbicides and fungicides. Changing the pH of the water during or immediately after a fertility application may help solubilize specific cations to make them available. Don’t forget to change your irrigation schedule as well to keep that nutrition in the root zone longer. This should allow you to do more with less. Get targeted and efficient. Keep those cooks in the kitchen happy and add more if the workload heats up. If you have everything you need, being stuck in a comfortable spot may not be all that bad.

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DETERRENT FOR SMALL MAMMALS

• Protects elds and orchards from damage by small mammals

• Suitable control of gophers, ground squirrels, voles, moles and similar pests

• Eliminates fencing requirement

• Safeguards irrigation equipment from damage

• Encourages small mammal pests to vacate the premises

• Promotes small mammal population control

• Helps limit the (potential) spread of wildlife-borne disease

• Shown to be e ective even after precipitation

• Odorless and non-toxic to humans and animals

SMALL MAMMAL DETERRENT

Each year small ground mammals cause extensive damage to farm elds, crops and equipment. Besides foraging on eld crops, many are burrowing animals, whose mounds and holes create hazards for livestock, obstacles for farm equipment and inhibit crops from growing on disturbed land. In other instances, these small mammals can get into stored grain or damage agricultural infrastructure (i.e. causing damage to drip irrigation lines).

Penergetic b ZV’s purpose is to act as a deterrent by discouraging these pests from inhabiting treated areas. Since the target species often live under ground and have developed elaborate networks of tunnels, with multiple entrances, when using penergetic b ZV it is important to carry out a fairly land-expansive spraying program to ensure adequate coverage of the area they occupy.

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