In today’s Almond Matters, brought to you by Valent U.S.A., disease pressure is likely going to be more problematic for growers this year. Field Market Development Specialist with Valent U.S.A., Todd Burkdoll said conditions have been favorable for fungal diseases. The higher level of moisture throughout the winter and early spring seasons lends itself to the proliferation of fungal pathogens.
“Definitely going to be a higher pressure disease year this year for sure, across the board,” Burkdoll noted. “So, getting on diseases like Alternaria and scab early is better than getting on it late trying to put out a fire after it has gotten going.”
Most fungal diseases will thrive in temperatures between 70 and 80 degrees with light humidity. Diseases will especially thrive in the canopy of the orchard where trees are transpiring. “Evapotranspiration is taking place, so you’ve got added moisture in that microclimate there which is conducive to disease development,” said Burkdoll.
Taking an integrated approach to addressing disease pressure is the recommended course of action. Burkdoll explained that there are no silver bullets with disease management and often refers growers to the UC IPM guidelines. Particularly in a year with higher-than-average disease pressure, growers will want to approach the issue with multiple modes of action. Burkdoll recommends using materials with the best performance to get the highest probability of keeping crops safe from infection.
“You start with something to take out any potential spores, or any existing infection. Hopefully, there’s no infection yet, but there may be,” Burkdoll explained. “So, you need to go in with something that’s got some knockout. That’s why I like the Quash/PH-D combination because you’ve got a contact that knocks out any spores, and kills everything that’s out there. And then the Quash component actually gets in and prevents, and it also has curative activity as well being a systemic product.”
Listen to the report below.