Pistachio acreage has blossomed in Northern California over the last several years, and advisors believe for several reasons.
UC Cooperative Extension Orchard Advisor Katherine Jarvis-Shean serves Yolo, Solano, and Sacramento Counties and said pistachio plantings are increasing exponentially in the Sacramento Valley. “When I first started this job six years ago, there were about 500 acres of pistachios in my tri-county region,” Jarvis Shean said. “The numbers are changing so fast it’s hard to get a solid number, but I would guess there is anywhere from 8,000 to 10,000 acres of pistachios now.”
Jarvis-Shean said she believes there are several reasons for the increase, including water security with incoming Sustastainable Groundwater Management Act regulation. “There are a lot of things in favor of planting pistachios in the Sacramento Valley. It’s a nice tree crop to diversify into…If you have high boron conditions…and as we see acreage coming out of production in the Southern San Juaquin as a result of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, that’s already starting to drive people to look up north,” she said.
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