A new male pistachio cultivar is showing to be beneficial for growers during low chill years.
Pistachio Cultivar Beneficial During Low Chill
Attendees at University of California Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources’ (UC ANR) Statewide Pistachio Day heard about research looking at helping growers find a better match for their female Kerman variety during low chill years. Cooperative Extension Farm Advisor Craig Kallsen says the male Peters variety doesn’t time well with the female Kerman variety during those years and some growers have been trying other male cultivars. Kallsen says a new cultivar referred to as B19-69 is showing to be a great option for growers during those low chill years.
“It looks like it times better with Kerman during low chill years,” Kallsen says. “Peters in high chill years has been a great pollinizer for Kerman and people have made a lot of money off of it. We are concerned, however, about these low chill years and what we are really afraid of is more and more of those years. It seems prudent to look for a better option for that possibility.”
More about B19-69
You can watch Kallsen’s presentation on the research at UC ANR’s website.