The 2023 crop year was a difficult one for growers, largely due to pest damage. Navel orangeworm (NOW) was a particularly difficult pest to manage, which resulted in high levels of damage. President and CEO of the Central California Almond Growers Association, Michael Kelley said it was an odd season. In a recent episode of the Almond Journey Podcast from the Almond Board of California, Kelley described 2023 as one of the strangest he has ever seen from a huller/sheller standpoint.
“In my 19 years, I’ve never seen one that’s been plagued with so much adversity,” Kelley explained. “It was like a perfect mix of everything that could go wrong to make navel orangeworm get to monumental levels.”
Abnormal weather patterns created poor pollination conditions and limited in-field sanitation practices. An inability to get into orchards for sanitation programs was also mixed with economic issues. Almond prices prevented many growers from implementing full field sanitation activities. Kelley explained that the two tropical storms in late summer “caused product to stay out in the field a lot longer than it normally would, thereby also causing pest pressure to increase to pretty significant levels. We actually saw live worms coming in from the field. It was just a really, really bad year.”
Timing issues and lackluster sanitation programs created an environment for NOW to thrive and wreak havoc in orchards. Kelley said they saw damage levels of anywhere from 10 to 20 percent. However, growers that were able to deploy full and effective sanitation efforts fared much better. “It’s the difference between night and day how important that in-field sanitation is, post-harvest, and the need to do those well-timed applications for pests when it’s needed,” Kelley noted.
ABC has resources to help growers manage navel orangeworm pressure in their orchards. Growers can go to Almonds.com/NOW to learn more.
Listen to the segment below.
Brian German
Ag News Director / AgNet West