Are you new to growing almonds?
Did you just replant an orchard? A
new publication, the “Young Orchard Handbook,” developed by University of California Cooperative Extension (UCCE) farm advisors and Extension specialists, looks at issues confronted in the early years of an orchard’s life and pulls together the latest in research and recommendations. Proper management of an orchard in its first five years of life is essential to optimizing orchard health, growth and yield over the life of the orchard.
Tools for Informed Decisions
Developed for both almonds and walnuts, this new resource gives growers the tools to make informed decisions about irrigation, fertilization, pruning and training and weed management in young orchards. Also included in the “Young Orchard Handbook” are links to additional resources for more detailed information by topic area.
Katherine Pope, farm advisor for Sacramento, Solano and Yolo counties, developed the handbook with input from fellow farm advisors. “There is so much information scattered over the Web these days, that finding resources to care for a young orchard can be overwhelming,” stated Pope. “This handbook pulls together a lot
of that information in one place to give growers a solid grounding in the basics of early orchard management, based on decades of UC research and experience.”
Other authors include Allan Fulton and David Doll, farm advisors for Tehama and Merced counties, respectively, as well as Bruce Lampinen, UCCE almond and walnut specialist, and Dr. Brad Hanson, UCCE weed specialist.
The new “Young Orchard Handbook,” can be found online through the
UCCE Yolo website. Several video recordings of presentations on young orchard management are also available. Topics include several of those covered in the handbook as well as management of vertebrate pests, cover crops, and pests and diseases. A 2016 revision is planned to integrate these video topics into the handbook.
Funding from ABC
The development of young-orchard educational materials for almond growers is supported in part by ongoing funding for local farm advisor projects from the Almond Board of California (ABC). In addition to the “Young Orchard Handbook,” other farm advisor projects supported this year include research on insect pest dynamics (Tehama); mechanical pruning and training of young trees (Stanislaus); bloom disease control trials (San Joaquin); brown marmorated stinkbug studies (Glenn/Butte/Tehama); fall nitrogen applications (Colusa/Sutter/Yuba); sodium, chloride and boron accumulation in almonds (Kern); and navel orangeworm monitoring (Sacramento Valley).
Bob Curtis, ABC’s director of Agricultural Affairs, noted, “Each year, the ABC provides funding for farm advisors to conduct research and outreach projects of prime importance for the areas they serve as well as
the whole almond community. ‘The Young Orchard Handbook,’ which farm advisor Katherine Pope spearheaded, is a wonderful example of the benefits of this ongoing support to Extension programs and California Almonds.”
