In today’s Almond Matters, brought to you by Valent U.S.A., the new year means that almond bloom is on the horizon. Growers are working on orchard preparations to get their trees ready for the coming growing season. Field Market Development Specialist with Valent U.S.A., Todd Burkdoll sheds light on the significance of the pre-bloom period, emphasizing a need to start strong with pest management programs. Burkdoll advises growers to seize the opportunity of the dormant trees to perform essential sanitation tasks efficiently.
“Anytime you can conserve cost, it’s a good thing. Right now, because there’s no leaves on the trees, the trees are still dormant. You can go out with a pretty high rate of oil, three to four or five percent, 415 oil and Esteem is a good mix,” Burkdoll explained. “Oil and Esteem works pretty good on cleaning that kind of stuff up scale as well. If there’s any scale out there, you get it before it gets out of hand.”
Burkdoll said that he prefers using pyriproxyfen, the active ingredient in Esteem, during the dormant period rather than in the season. The addition of oil in the mix contributes to maximizing the overall efficacy of the application. “You can put oil with it, and I think oil really enhances the activity; penetrating bark and through the caps of the scale insects as well as if you’ve got mummies,” said Burkdoll.
Effective orchard preparations before the season gets started will help growers stay in front of potential pest problems later on. Early season diligence with appropriate applications can be the most valuable approach for pest management. The moisture from several storms that have come through California provides optimal conditions for applications. Hydrated trees will allow materials to stay where they are supposed to be.
Listen to the report below.