In today’s Almond Matters, brought to you by Valent, bees are in the orchards with almond bloom on the horizon. Field Market Development Specialist with Valent U.S.A., Todd Burkdoll said that based on what he is seeing, expectations are for bloom to set in next week.
“There’s some early stuff that’s starting to show a few flowers here and there down in the south valley. For the most part, things are still waking up. But they’re waking up pretty rapidly,” Burkdoll noted. “It’s been colder in the mornings, colder at night and cold in the morning. So, we get a couple of warm days and everything is going to pop as far as bloom goes.”
Last year, a cold front came in during almond bloom which resulted in some significant freeze damage in many orchards. Forecasts for the coming week are relatively average, with no substantial adverse weather conditions expected. However, growers will be paying close attention to the potential for rain and what that could mean for disease pressures.
“If it doesn’t rain between now and the bloom period, I think that pressures come off a little bit. It’s still moist out there,” said Burkdoll. “If we have rain, definitely we need to put something out there for protection. But if there’s no rain in the forecast you can probably do a petal fall spray and get by with it.”
Blossom blight can be a particular issue for growers. Burkdoll said there are several options available that can help growers manage the problem. “I like to stay away from triazoles and go with other products and then keep the triazoles for later on. I like to keep Quash for Alternaria later in the season; April, May, and June. But there’s a lot of other good fungicides you can put on at bloom that can keep the pathogens away,” said Burkdoll.
Listen to the report below.