MEETING ON SEPTEMBER 10TH IN SACRAMENTO

CDFA and Calif. Water Commission

To Meet for Urgent Water Reliability

The California State Board of Food and Agriculture and the California Water Commission will hold a joint meeting concerning the state’s water supply on September 10th in Sacramento. The meeting will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the California Department of Food and Agriculture, 1220 ‘N’ Street – Main Auditorium, Sacramento, CA 95814.

“California’s current water situation spells uncertainty for agricultural interests throughout this state,” said CDFA Secretary Karen Ross. “We need to work proactively with farmers and ranchers to address groundwater overdraft and water transfers – providing a level of reliability over the next few years.”

On May 20th, Governor Edmund G. Brown, Jr. issued an Executive Order to streamline approvals for water transfers to protect California’s farms. The order was in response to the very dry conditions occurring within the state. Currently, water allocations for this year remain low with 35 percent of requested amounts through the State Water Project and 20 percent of requested amounts through the federal Central Valley Project. Even if this winter provides a normal wet year, growers throughout the state are preparing for a reduced water supply as nine of the State’s major reservoirs are below historic average levels, and six of these are below 50 percent total capacity. This meeting provides a forum for agricultural stakeholders, water representatives, and government officials to discuss California’s water situation and make recommendations to the state board.

Invited speakers include: Director Mark Cowin, California Department of Water Resources, Randy Record, Chair of the Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA); Mike Wade, California Farm Water Coalition; Chris White, Central California Irrigation District; Victoria Whitney, State Water Resources Control Board; Karla Nemeth; California Natural Resources Agency; Marvin Meyers, Meyers Farming; Joe MacIlvaine, Paramount Farming; John Sweigard, Merced Irrigation District and Kris Beal, Vineyard Team.

Craig McNamara, President of the California State Board of Food and Agriculture.

“With the strong potential for drought conditions next year – flexibility within the statewide water system is needed” said Craig McNamara, president of the California State Board of Food and Agriculture. “I’m hopeful that this meeting can help inform policy discussions and encourage action by state and federal agencies.”

The California State Board of Food and Agriculture advises the governor and the CDFA secretary on agricultural issues and consumer needs. The state board conducts forums that bring together local, state and federal government officials, agricultural representative and citizens to discuss current issues of concern to California agriculture.

The California Water Commission consists of nine members appointed by the Governor and subject to Senate confirmation. Its historical role includes advising the Director of the Department of Water Resources on matters within the Department’s jurisdiction, approving rules and regulations, and monitoring and reporting on the construction of the State Water Project.

Patrick Cavanaugh2016-05-31T19:45:20-07:00September 4th, 2013|

2013 SEEN AS HEAVY INSECT PRESSURE YEAR

Some Crops Are Coming In, After

A Very Tough Pest Year

Vern Crawford, a Kern County PC

Vern Crawford, a long time pest control advisor with Wilbur-Ellis (Shafter branch) spoke to California Ag Today about the goings on in Kern County and elsewhere.

“The Upland, Acala type cotton will soon be defoliated. Pima cotton fields are full bloom but we are past any new bolls being made from the flowering branches. Defoliation for Pima will begin in about a month,” Crawford said.

It’s full-on harvest of the earlier pistachios, and Kern County almonds are about 2/3 harvested. All the soft shells are at the huller and growers are now picking the hard shells.

“Dried black-eyed beans are doing well. Traditionally, it’s good to have them on the ground by October, as growers do not want to get caught with cold rain and fog,” noted Crawford.  “If that happens, the bean grower is trapped and the crop will need to go to cattle feed.”

“And what a year for alfalfa growers,” said Crawford. “In 2012 we hardly had to spray for anything, except for the alfalfa weevils at the early cutting.”

In 2013, you name the bug and it was a problem. “We had the Blue Alfalfa Aphid that we could not get under control with the usual insecticides. We think it’s a new biotype. We had some significant yield losses especially on the first and second cuttings, which are the high dollar cuttings,” said Crawford. “It was very bad in Imperial County, the Colorado River area, and Kern County.”

“We are looking for a Section 18 for Carbine from FMC, for next year’s hay season to control the Blue Alfalfa Aphid,” noted Crawford.

“Then we had the western yellow-striped armyworm for two cuttings, and now we are getting the alfalfa caterpillar, the pea aphid, along with the cow pea aphid. So we have had a lot of pressure on nearly every cutting this season,” Crawford said.

And almond growers saw enormous mite pressure. “Some growers sprayed four times, which cost the growers as much as $400 per acre. Normally it would cost under $100 per acre with Agri-Mek or other products, which did not seem to work too well this season,” he said.

“Then, inventory for some of the materials was exhausted about mid-season,” said Crawford. “Some growers turned to the old standby product, Omite, and got great results.

“In some fields, which were simply out of control, we flew on some dusting sulfur. On those 100 degree days, the sulfur fumed within the canopy and took care of the mites,” Crawford said.

Last year’s costs were among the cheapest in years for almond growers because of low pest pressure. However, this year could have been the most expensive year; Crawford said some growers were hit by the leaf-footed plant bug and stinkbug. “And everyone was worried about Navel Orangeworm (NOW) after getting hit hard last season. This year, some growers came through with three applications for NOW,” he said.

Patrick Cavanaugh2016-05-31T19:45:20-07:00September 3rd, 2013|

MORE SCHOOL GARDENS TO BE CULTIVATED

WGA Donates for More School Gardens

Western Growers Foundation presented fifty Arizona K-12 schools with $75,000 in grant money to create and sustain their own edible gardens.  Each school received $1,500.  The grants were provided through the Arizona Department of Agriculture as part of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Specialty Crop Block Grant.  Pending completion of paperwork, the schools will receive their funds by the end of this month.

Western Growers Foundation was created by Western Growers members as a way to give back to their communities. The Foundation’s mission is to plant and sustain a fruit and vegetable garden in every willing Arizona and California school.
 

Edible school gardens give children the opportunity to learn where their food comes from and the importance of good nutrition. The school gardens program is an important educational tool that Western Growers Foundation uses to promote good nutrition to our schoolchildren in Arizona and California.

“It’s staggering to think that the majority of children go without eating even one serving of fruits and vegetables a day when they should be having 5-9 servings,” said Paula Olson, vice president of marketing at Western Growers, who oversees the Foundation’s Edible School Gardens project. “Coupled with the fact that 30% of U.S. children are obese and half are overweight, it’s imperative that we do all we can to promote healthy living.” 
 

The Edible School Gardens Program is open to all K-12 schools, both public and private, in Arizona.  Western Growers Foundation is expecting a new round of grants to be announced by the end of this year.  “If schools are interested in participating, we encourage them to watch the Foundation’s website http://www.westerngrowersfoundation.org/ for the announcement,” Olson added.

For a list of schools that received the grants, see below or click here to go the Foundation’s webpage. To donate, visit www.westerngrowersfoundation.org/donate. 

Patrick Cavanaugh2016-05-31T19:45:20-07:00September 3rd, 2013|

CALIFORNIA DESALINATION RESEARCH AWARDS

Desalination to Solve Water Shortage?

One possible solution to the water shortage experienced by California’s agricultural industry is desalination. Desalination is not new, but current methods such as reverse osmosis (RO) and flash distillation are expensive. If a cost-effective way to extract the freshwater from ocean water could be found, farms and communities would benefit.

“Reclamation Commissioner Michael L. Connor announced that nine entities will share more than $1.1 million in awards in support of laboratory and pilot scale research studies in the field of water desalination and purification. Through required cost shares of up to 75%, Reclamation’s funding will be leveraged to support a total of $3 million in research.”

“‘Desalination and other advanced water treatment technologies have the potential to provide new water sources for communities,’ Commissioner Connor said. ‘This research effort will examine innovative technologies that have the potential to reduce the cost of treating brackish water – helping to create new tools for addressing future water challenges.’”

The projects in California selected for funding this year are:

• Evaluation of a Zero Liquid Discharge Desalination System by Trussell Technologies of Pasadena, Calif.
• Sephton Water Technology, Inc. of Kensington, Calif., will test a prototype barometric evaporator at the existing pilot facility in Imperial County, Calif., to treat water at the Salton Sea.
• University of California, Los Angeles has proposed a new technology concept of cyclic reverse osmosis to enable a wide variety of water sources over a wider range of salinities while using optimal energy.

The Bureau of Reclamation is the largest wholesale water supplier and the second largest producer of hydroelectric power in the United States, with operations and facilities in the 17 Western States. Its facilities also provide substantial flood control, recreation, and fish and wildlife benefits.

Patrick Cavanaugh2016-05-31T19:45:20-07:00September 1st, 2013|

CALIFORNIA FAMILY FARMERS PRODUCE RECORD HIGH REVENUES

California Ag Reaches New High

California’s 80,500 farms and ranches received a record high $44.7 billion for their output last year. The State’s agriculture revenues increased three percent for 2012 from the revised 2011 income level of $43.3 billion, according to USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service and Economic Research Service.

California’s cash receipts represented 11.3 percent of the U.S. total for 2012.

California remains the number one dairy state in the nation, producing 20.9 percent of the nation’s milk supply last year. Dairy producers received $6.90 billion for their milk production in 2012, down 10 percent from 2011.

The number of licensed herds dropped 1.5 percent from 2011, while the change in number of cows was up 30,000 as small operations were shuttered and the larger dairies built up herds. Milk prices received by producers dropped from an average $18.54 per hundred pounds of milk sold in 2011 to $16.52 in 2012.

The decline in milk prices received that began in September 2011 continued into the first half of 2012. November saw the highest all milk price received, $19.92, which was 40 cents below the prior year’s highest monthly return per hundredweight.

Dairy producers experienced increased feed costs and limited feed availability due to the drought conditions in the nation’s corn growing regions. Cost of production per cow per month was up 12.3 percent based on the California Department of Food and Agriculture’s Cost of Production Survey. The high production costs, primarily feed, kept California dairies struggling financially in 2012.

The prior year the state net loss of dairies was 48, while 2012 saw a decline of only 25 dairies. National and global supply and demand conditions for finished dairy products were steady with national exports remaining strong in terms of volume and total value.

Twelve California products exceeded $1 billion in receipts for 2012, one more than in 2011. Nine of the twelve commodities registered an increase in value. The commodity with the largest percentage increase with receipts over $1 billion was Pistachios, at a 27 percent increase in value. All three of the major nut crops; almond, walnuts, and pistachios exceeded the billion dollar threshold.

The value of grapes edged higher than that of almonds in 2012, ranking second in the top ten commodities by cash receipts. Final grower returns could change the sales values for the commodities, resulting in an updated dollar amount in next year’s report.

Patrick Cavanaugh2016-05-31T19:45:20-07:00September 1st, 2013|

GREEN PRICE IS $75 PER TON LOWER THAN LAST YEAR

Gallo Sets Thompson Price at $250 a Ton

While the California raisin industry is still trying to negotiate a per ton price, E & J Gallo Winery has come out with a $250 per ton offer for any Thompsons that are harvested green for the winery, noted Nat DiBuduo, president and CEO if Allied Grape Growers in Fresno

The price is down from last year’s $325 a ton price.  It will most likely mean that many raisin producers will opt for raisin production instead of for juice.

DiBuduo said that he was somewhat surprised by the price drop, but added that crop is 25 percent larger this year.

Patrick Cavanaugh2016-05-31T19:45:21-07:00August 31st, 2013|

PROGRAM FOR METHYL BROMIDE ALTERNATIVES

UC Researches Alternatives to 

Banned Methyl Bromide 

Pamela Kan-Rice, Assistant Director, UC ANR, reportedon August 29, 2013 that California growers have used methyl bromide, a soil fumigant, to effectively sterilize pre-planted fields since the 1960s. But now methyl bromide is about to be phased out under an international ban.

Methyl bromide contributes to ozone depletion high in the atmosphere and was banned by developed countries in 2005 under the Montreal Protocol, an international treaty to protect the stratospheric ozone layer. Since then, the treaty has allowed limited use of methyl bromide for certain crops, but many of these exemptions are gone and the rest will end soon.

Rootstocks for almonds and stone fruits were tested for resistance to Prunus replant disease complex near Parlier. (Photo credit: UC ANR)

To help growers find workable substitutes, University of California researchers are part of a team working to optimize methyl bromide alternatives for western crops including almonds, strawberries and nursery stock.

The Pacific Area-Wide Pest Management Program for Integrated Methyl Bromide Alternatives (PAW-MBA), funded by a$5 million, five-year USDA grant, is developing and evaluating alternatives to methyl bromide for production crops such as grapes, strawberries and tree nuts as well as nursery crops such as cut flowers, forest trees and sweet potatoes.

“One goal of the program, conducted by a team of UC and U.S. Department of Agriculture researchers, was to identify methyl bromide alternatives that were immediately useful and economically feasible,” says Greg Browne, a USDA plant pathologist at UC Davis who coordinates the PAW-MBA program. “Another was to foster development of nonfumigant strategies for managing soilborne pests.”

The team has identified methyl bromide alternatives that are both effective and economical for key California crops. When the best alternative is another fumigant, the researchers found ways to use less and to cut emissions. In addition, the researchers are developing alternatives that go beyond fumigants, including steam sterilization and other nontoxic approaches.

Summaries of projects:

TIF film, substrates and nonfumigant soil disinfestation maintain fruit yields

Strawberry growers use methyl bromide primarily to control soilborne diseases. Now, new UC research shows that this crop can be grown without fumigants at small scales. Three nontoxic methods — nonsoil substrates, anaerobic soil disinfestation and steam disinfestation — produced strawberry yields as high as those in conventionally fumigated soil.

“Instead of understanding soil, we’ve just been fumigating it,” says Steve Fennimore, a UC Cooperative Extension specialist in Salinas who led this team. “Using physical tools is a different approach.” Researchers will next evaluate whether these alternative methods can be scaled up to commercial production fields, and whether they work in different strawberry production areas of California.

Managing almond and stone fruit replant disease complex with less soil fumigant

Almond and stone fruit growers need methyl bromide alternatives to control nematodes and Prunus replant disease, a soilborne disorder that stunts new orchards and cuts yields. UC and USDA researchers tested alternative fumigants, spot and strip fumigation and nonfumigant methods including rotating orchards with sudangrass and using nematode-resistant rootstock.

“Spot treatments provided adequate control of Prunus replant disease and may be very helpful to growers needing to use less fumigant for costs savings or regulatory restrictions,” Browne says. In addition, integrating the various treatments tested may also help control the replant disease with less fumigant use.

Preplant 1,3-D treatments test well for perennial crop nurseries, with challenges

California supplies nursery stock to the state’s fruit, nut and vineyard industries, as well as more than 60 percent of the rose plants and fruit and nut trees sold nationwide. This perennial nursery stock must be completely nematode-free, and growers use methyl bromide primarily to control these tiny soilborne worms.

However, alternative fumigants such as 1,3-dichloropropene (1,3-D) don’t work as well in fine soils. “We asked how we could make them work better,” says Brad Hanson, a UC Cooperative Extension specialist in the Department of Plant Sciences at UC Davis. The researchers showed that 1,3-D controlled nematodes in fine soil when they tilled it deeper, injected the fumigant deeper and used tarps that kept more of the fumigant in the soil.

Fumigant emission reductions with TIF warrant regulatory changes

Fumigants are regulated partly because they help make smog. Totally impermeable film (TIF) can help keep fumigants in the soil and out of the air. New UC research shows that fumigant emissions can drop 64 percent when fields are tarped with TIF for twice as long as usual (10 days instead of 5).

“We’re now working on safe use,” says Suduan Gao, a USDA soil scientist in Parlier who led the team. “The goal is to keep the fumigant under the tarp long enough that there won’t be a surge in emissions when it’s cut open.” This work gives regulatory agencies a new way to let growers keep using enough fumigant to control pests and diseases while minimizing the smog-forming emissions.

Patrick Cavanaugh2016-05-31T19:45:21-07:00August 31st, 2013|

California Bills Affecting Agriculture Approved Today

Bills Moving Towards Votes in Legislature

The Monterey County Farm Bureau provided the following information:

The Assembly Appropriations Committee recently took up their Suspense File on Friday, August 30th, consisting of 152 bills that proposed to spend approximately $600 million. The committee chair, Mike Gatto (D-Los Angeles), announced that the committee was prepared to send 110 of the measures to the floor and, with the committee’s amendments, the total cost would be $17 million. He said that continuing to safeguard state spending was his committee’s top priority to help ensure the state’s continued economic recovery.

All of the following, except SB 404 (Hannah-Beth Jackson, D-Santa Barbara), were approved and sent to the Assembly:

SB 1 (Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento) would reinstitute the Community Redevelopment Law under the guise of Sustainable Communities Investment Authorities. The bill was amended, at the request of the author, to limit the bill’s potential impact on farmland. Unfortunately, the specific language of the amendments will not be available until next week. We are gratified that the author has agreed to limit the potential of eminent domain to take productive farmland for a subsequent private development project but Farm Bureau remains opposed to SB 1.

SB 485 (Ron Calderon, D-Montebello) would require junk dealers and recyclers to provide documentation of the necessary permits and business practices to prove they are operating legally prior to obtaining a weighmaster certificate from a County Agricultural Commissioner and Sealer. It also allows an additional $500 fee to be charged to cover the costs of these inspections. The intent of this bill is to ensure that recyclers and junk dealers are complying with current law and are properly permitted to operate their businesses. There is a proliferation of “illegal” recyclers and this bill will help stop those activities. Farm Bureau supports.

SB 749 (Lois Wolk, D-Davis) would extend the sunset for the provision that allows accidental take for ongoing and routine farming and ranching activities under the California Endangered Species Act (CESA). It also clarifies where lease revenues generated from agricultural leases on lands owned by the Department of Fish and Wildlife are deposited. SB 749 ensures that these revenues can be used to support the maintenance and operations of the Department’s lands, and it clarifies when the administrative record is closed for purposes of listing species under CESA. The bill was recently amended to also clarify that farmers transferring water can maintain non-irrigated cover crops so long as the water used by those crops does not diminish the amount being transferred. This bill is co-sponsored by Farm Bureau, the California Cattlemen’s Association, and the California Waterfowl Association.

SB 404 (Hannah-Beth Jackson, D-Santa Barbara) includes “familial status” as a protected classification under the California Fair Housing and Employment Act. “Familial status” is a very broad term that will sweep in a massive number of employees and their relationships, such that virtually any employee could be covered by it. As a result, nearly any adverse employment decision by an employer could be construed as discriminatory if SB 404 becomes law. SB 404 was held on the Assembly Appropriations suspense file. Farm Bureau opposes.

The Senate Appropriations Committee did not provide the fiscal impact details of their Suspense File as provided by the Assembly. Bills that were approved by the committee and sent to the Senate floor for a vote in the next two weeks include:

AB 8 (Henry Perea, D-Fresno and Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley) continues the authority through 2023 to fund several air quality improvement programs. They include the Carl Moyer Program, widely used by the agricultural community, and the Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Programs. SB 11 (Anthony Cannella, R-Ceres and Fran Pavley (D-Agoura Hills) is basically the same bill and was sent to the Assembly floor. Farm Bureau supports.

AB 263 (Roger Hernandez, D-West Covina) would forbid employers from engaging in a series of “unfair immigration-related practices”. This includes requesting more immigration documents than required under federal law, using E-Verify in a manner not required by federal law and threatening to contact immigration authorities. Farm Bureau and other business groups lifted opposition on the basis of amendments accepted by the author substantially reducing the possible penalties for the unfair immigration-related practices prohibited by the bill.

AB 1165 (Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley) would change current law so that abatement of a serious, willful, or repeated violation of a Cal/OSHA standard, or a failure to abate a prior violation cannot be delayed by an appeal of the citation by the employer. Farm Bureau and other employer groups are opposed.

AB 199 (Chris Holden, D-Pasadena) would encourage state institutions to purchase California grown agricultural products. Originally, the bill would have required state institutions to purchase California grown agricultural products as long as the price was within five percent of out of state agricultural products. However, state institutions raised concerns in the Assembly Appropriations Committee and the bill was narrowed to only require the purchase, to the extent possible. Farm Bureau supports.

AB 10 by Assembly Member Luis Alejo (D-Salinas) will increase the California minimum wage to $10 on January 1, 2018. AB 10 was removed from the Senate appropriations suspense file and re-referred to the Senate Rules committee instead of the Senate floor. The Department of Finance had previously indicated that passage of AB 10 would incur significant enforcement costs to the Department of Industrial Relations and significant salary and employment tax costs to the state government as a whole. Farm Bureau is opposed.

SB 753 (Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento) that increases enforcement authority for the Central Valley Flood Protection Board was approved by the Assembly along party lines on a 52-25 vote. The measure would grant additional enforcement authority to the Central Valley Flood Protection Board, including cease and desist and fine authority.

Farm Bureau worked with the Flood Protection Board and the author to define a clear path early in the informal phase of the enforcement process to allow a landowner to fix any encroachment violations prior to the Flood Board imposing penalties. This path includes a well defined structure for penalty actions and amounts and a fair and reasonable process to address the removal of existing lawful encroachment permits approved by the Flood Board, as opposed to “illegal encroachments.” With earlier amendments Farm Bureau removed opposition.

AB 1331 (Committee on Water, Parks and Wildlife) was amended this week to modify the $11.14 billion Safe, Clean, and Reliable Drinking Water Supply Act of 2014 (Water Bond). The Climate Change Response for Clean and Safe Drinking Water Act of 2014 (AB 1331) would authorize the issuance of $6.5 billion in general obligation bonds in five separate categories. Four of the five categories would require legislative authority to appropriate the funds. The fifth category, water storage funding, would be continuously appropriated. The five categories include $1 billion for Water Quality and Clean and Safe Drinking Water, $1.5 billion for Protecting Rivers, Lakes, Streams and Watersheds, $1.5 billion for Climate Change Preparedness for Regional Security, $1 billion for Delta Sustainability, and $1.5 billion continuously appropriated for Water Storage for Climate Change. Farm Bureau is actively engaged in the process and is emphasizing the need for increased water storage, area of origin water rights protections, continuous appropriation for water storage dollars and we are highlighting farmers continued actions to implement even more efficient use of water in recent years. Farm Bureau has a support position for the current water bond as approved in 2009 and will continue to monitor this and all efforts to impact the size and structure of the water bond.

SB 168 (Bill Monning, D-Carmel) seeks to end the practice of subsequent “sham” formation of Farm Labor Contractor businesses in order to deprive workers of their rightful wages. Farm Bureau and other agricultural groups were initially opposed, but have since lifted opposition after the author accepted amendments addressing Farm Bureau’s concerns. The Senate concurred in those amendments on August 30 and SB 168 now goes to the governor for his consideration.

Patrick Cavanaugh2016-05-31T19:45:21-07:00August 31st, 2013|

NEXT WEEK RAISIN HARVEST WILL BE BIG ON A RECORD CROP

No Labor Shortages Yet in Raisin Vineyards

Sun-dried grapes will soon be raisins.

By Patrick Cavanaugh, Editor

According to Glen Goto, Chief Executive Officer for the Fresno-based Raisin Bargaining Association, there has been no reported labor shortage in raisin vineyards so far this season.

“The season started earlier, which may have spread the labor out, or growers are using less labor to harvest their vineyards, which means the labor will be working for more hours in those vineyards,” Goto said.

Tray counts are often noted on the end posts.

So far this season’s cost per tray is 30 cents, which is where it ended up at the end of last season. “We are seeing a little price inflation, which means growers are paying more per tray,” said Goto.

Goto noted that after Sept. 1, the harvest will be going strong, and that’s when labor shortages may start to be noticed.

Hand harvested raisins must be on the trays by Sept. 20 to qualify for raisin rain insurance. For machine-harvested raisins, they must be on the continuous tray by Sept. 25.

The raisin-type variety grape forecast is 2.40 million tons, up 25.5 percent from the 2012 final production. Based on the objective measurement survey, bunches per vine totaled a record 47.7 compared to 29.1 in 2012. This could be a record harvest year.

Patrick Cavanaugh2016-05-31T19:45:21-07:00August 31st, 2013|

PISTACHIO GROWERS GATHER TO SEE DAMAGE

Today Pistachio growers heard from David Haviland about Gill’s Mealybug pressure and control timing.

Gill’s Mealybug Field Meeting

Focuses On Damage and Treatments

By Patrick Cavanaugh, Editor

Today, pistachio growers, PCA and others gathered in a Tulare County Pistachio orchard owned by Dennis Burner who is cooperating in a Gill’s mealybug control trial with UC Farm Advisors. Attendees saw mealybug pressure on trees and heard about the best time to treat for the pest.

Gill’s mealybug is a relatively new pest of pistachios in California. “It was first recognized in the late 1990s in a an orchard near Tulare. It has now spread up to Colusa County and has move down to Kern County,” said David Haviland, UC Cooperative Extension Kern County, who organized the field day with Elizabeth Fichtner, UC Cooperative Extension Tulare County.

Tulare County is a hot spot with most pistachio orchards having the bug, which has three generations per year. “Right about harvest time there are a whole bunch of mealybug crawlers hatching, and then they overwinter and become adults in May. These adults will produce an enormous amount of new crawlers the first week of June, which is an important treatment time, right when those crawlers come out,” said Haviland. “The ones that are born the first week of June will become adults in about mid-to-late July, which is the second generation. The mealybugs that are in the tree now are the start of the third generation when they become adults then hatch more young bugs at harvest.”

David Haviland

“Population-wise, growers will get millions of crawlers at harvest, but if you come back to the tree in the spring, you will see maybe one or two per pistachio cluster, so there is a huge winter mortality,” said Haviland.

Haviland stood by a tree that had only about one mealybug per 10 clusters in the May, but now the untreated trees in the trial have clusters that are covered with honeydew, and now blackened with sooty mold, with 30 or 40 adults on the clusters. The lower leaves on the trees were turning black from the sooty mold.

 

Gill’s Mealybug on pistachio clusters Causing a sooty mold mess.

“Typically growers go out in their orchards April and May and see about one mealybug for every 10 clusters. In fact they might not even notice it. But that mealy bug produces about 20 live young, which increases the count to about one per cluster, but now those adults give rise to 15 or 20 crawlers per cluster which causes clusters to be moist and black,” said Haviland. “So the point is that one or two per cluster can cause many more per cluster near harvest time, so May is the time to be thinking about spraying the first of June.”

Haviland looked back at the tree he was standing next to, and said: “If you have tree that looks like this, with a lot of mealybugs and sooty mold, let it go; you can’t do anything about it. Come back the first week of June 2014 and treat it with an insecticide and you should be clean at harvest next year. It’s really that simple.

Insecticide timing is important, but there is a widow. Of all the products registered, they are most effective on crawlers. “So you really want to get them the first week of June when the crawlers are out regardless of which product your using,” Haviland said.

During the upcoming harvest season, Haviland warn growers to ask the harvest crew to wash down the harvesting equipment and make sure no tree debris from another orchard is on the equipment. “And if growers have an orchard with mealybug, please inform the harvest crews so that they clean the equipment before moving to another site, which may not have mealybug.

“The harvest crew should blow off all leaf trash and hose the equipment down before it goes from property to property. Growers should insist upon this,” Haviland said.

Patrick Cavanaugh2016-05-31T19:45:21-07:00August 30th, 2013|