In today’s Almond Matters, brought to you by Valent, bloom is steadily progressing, and growers are preparing for petal fall. Field Market Development Specialist with Valent U.S.A., Todd Burkdoll said bloom began around February 10. Temperatures over the weekend also helped move the bloom period along.
“I just looked at some Independents that were basically at full bloom. Some of the other varieties are a little bit behind. But by next week we should be well into petal fall on some of the earlier varieties and then full bloom on the others,” Burkdoll explained. “Peach twig borer is going to be a problem after petal fall is typically when we would target that one as well as disease. If the weather does warm up, it does become conducive to disease with the moisture. Fungicides need to be put into the program sooner than later.”
The forecasted storm coming through California is expected to be cold, lowering the potential of disease pressures. At the same time, those cold temperatures could bring frost risks. When temperatures warm back up, sights will be set to pest issues. Burkdoll said that he already saw green stink bugs out in the Visalia area, but the cold temperatures should slow their propagation. Growers will be best served in getting in front of any pest problems early, particularly with programs targeting peach twig borer.
“Dipel is a really good choice to go in at that petal fall application. It’s relatively economical and it is a good choice,” said Burkdoll. “If they’ve already got inside the twigs, inside the shoots, it’s a nonissue. It’s already too late. So, getting on preventatively is really good. In trees, you usually get about five to seven days of residual out of a Dipel application. So that’s something to look out for.”
Listen to the report below.