California Fruit and Vegetable

Tag: UCCE Farm Advisor

  • What Are You Doing For Your Orchard’s Financial Longevity?

    Your prune orchard is an investment – the longer it remains a productive, high-yielding orchard the higher your return on that investment and the longer you can avoid the (very expensive) need for orchard removal, replanting, and years of non-bearing and low initial yields.

    Do you know what thiophanate-methyl is? It is the active ingredient in the fungicide Topsin-M. While this is not a pesticide advertisement or recommendation, research from the lab of Dr. Themis Michailides (UC Davis, based at Kearney Ag Research & Extension Center) has shown that Topsin-M is the most consistently effective fungicide for protecting fresh pruning wounds. Pruning wounds are very easily colonized by canker causing fungi (Cytospora, Botryosphaeria, and others). These fungi infect the fresh pruning cut with wind splashed spores during rainstorms.

    So, all you must do is prune, quickly clear the brush, and apply Topsin-M or another thiophanate-methyl product? Unfortunately, it’s not quite that simple. Although this fungicide is the best protective spray we have to-date, it significantly reduces but does not prevent all canker infections that can shorten your orchard’s lifespan. Still, to give your orchard the best shot at long sustained health and financial viability -integrate this spray in with other best practices:

    1. Skip pruning when you can (following a heavy crop, the year after detailed pruning, etc.), but make sure to shaker thin if a heavy crop sets because limb breakage is also an opportunity for canker infection.
    2. Prune around rain whenever possible. Early fall or after bloom are pruning timing options that may (should?) avoid rain. Never prune with rain in the forecast.
    3. Quickly push brush and consider spraying with a thiophanate-methyl product (Topsin®-M, etc.).
    4. Prune out and remove dead wood in the orchard to reduce canker inoculum. Burn pruning debris where permitted.

    *Note, Mention of any chemistries or trade names does not constitute a recommendation and are for informational purposes only. Always consult with your PCA before use and adhere to the pesticide label and local and state regulations.  — By Luke Milliron, UCCE Orchard Advisor Butte, Glenn & Tehama Counties, and Franz Niederholzer, UCCE Farm Advisor, Colusa, Sutter & Yuba Counties

  • UC Strawberry Production Research Meeting, Feb. 14

    Join UC Farm Advisor Mark Bolda and other University and field experts in this virtual meeting to learn about the latest research and advances in strawberry production. Anyone directly involved with the production of strawberries is invited to attend. Live Spanish translation will be available. We will discuss issues pertaining to production of strawberry and provide updates on current research addressing those issues. Continuing Education Credits from CA DPR are pending approval. Register to attend HERE.

    Contacts for More Information
    Logistics: UC ANR Program Support, 530-750-1361 (messages only)

    Program: Mark Bolda, UCCE Farm Advisor

  • New Prune Varieties Show Promise in Reducing Fruit Drying Costs

    2022 is a year of ugly jerks in input costs. Fuel and fertilizer prices are way up. Higher natural gas and labor costs are pushing up drying costs, further reducing net grower returns in what looked to be a good market year. Mechanical pruning and careful production practices (to name a few steps) may help cut costs in the short term in established orchards. In the long run, cutting drying costs and increasing harvest timing flexibility may help prune growers net returns and stay in business. This long-term picture will require developing and field-testing new prune varieties that market like ‘French’ prune but have much lower dry away ratios (2-2.5) and hang longer on the tree without harming dried fruit quality.

    The UC Davis Prune Variety Development program, funded by the CA Prune Board, has developed several French-type prune varieties with low dry away numbers (2-2.5). These varieties “dry on the tree” while retaining good fruit quality. Projected savings for grower could be hundreds of dollars per acre in drying costs (see projected costs in the table below). These new varieties can be harvested over a longer time period giving growers more flexibility in managing harvest. More information on new varieties and contact information for UCD Prune Devo program are available on-line.

     Four new, numbered varieties performed well in small trials over several years. These varieties must be field-tested in small plantings (1-2 acres) before a large orchard should be planted. Test trees are available to interested growers. For more information on availability of test trees, contact Sarah Castro (scastro@ucdavis.edu) with UC Davis Prune Variety Devolopment program. 

    Projected differences in hauling and drying costs for ‘French’ prune (thinned or unthinned) and a new, unreleased ‘French’-type prune variety (J2N-128). These figures are intended as an example of possible production values.

    **This variety selected only as an example. There are four ‘French’ type varieties that show promise. — By Franz Niederholzer, UCCE Farm Advisor, Colusa and Sutter/Yuba Counites