In today’s Almond Matters, brought to you by Valent, most growers are in the middle of their pre-hull split pest management programs. Warm temperatures over the past week have amplified mite activity in orchards. Getting in front of increasing pest populations will be integral with hull split less than a few weeks away.
“If you’ve got a mite population out there that was small and not doing much prior to this heat, it’s probably a good idea to go out and look at it now because I would image the females have laid lots of eggs,” said Todd Burkdoll, Field Market Development Specialist for Valent USA. “If you don’t stay on it, you’re going to have a resurgence. Right now is a good time to be out there looking for mites at the same time checking traps for navel orangeworm.”
Monitoring high-traffic areas, vigorously checking the orchard canopy, and keeping an eye out on orchard borders will be essential in determining the necessary course of action. Diligence will be critical for effective pre-hull split pest management as pest populations can quickly get out of hand. “Going on early when you first see them is better than trying to put out a raging forest fire of mites that have webbed over the trees and it’s a mess,” Burkdoll noted.
Growers still have time to get active with applications before the onset of hull split. Burkdoll recommends a tank mix of Zeal and DiPel to get effective management of both mites and navel orangeworm. Preventative measures are paramount for starting hull split in a good position to keep the crop clean through harvest.
“Once [pests] get inside the nut, you’re not going to get anything in there really to kill them other than a systemic and there’s really nothing there that’s available,” said Burkdoll. “So, getting good coverage with a Zeal/DiPel application is really, really good to keep both those pests at bay,”
Listen to the report below.