March Almond Assessment
By Derek Toschi, CCA, CAIS The wet weather has continued into the 2023 spring in much of California which has presented new challenges we haven’t faced in recent years. Most of my almond irrigation consulting is done along SR 99 between Mettler and Kingsburg. Right now, I am seeing region differences in water uptake and […]
January Almond Assessment
By Travis Goldman, CCA, CAIS The 2022/2023 winter has been a significant change of pace for all of us in California. Just last year I was writing rehydration irrigation recommendations and schedules for the month of January to combat dry soil profiles to prevent stress before vascular rehydration. This January I am faced with a […]
Using Soil Tension Data to Track Early Root Water Uptake
By Travis Goldman In the almond industry everyone is excited for bloom but to an irrigation advisor our excitement starts with root flush and early bud swell. As early as January 10th bud swell was being seen in Shasta and Nonpareil varieties on the western side of the San Joaquin Valley. Since then other varieties […]
Mid-Season Tactics for Soil Rehydration in Mature Almonds
In years when heat waves occur in Early May and June, it is important to ensure that the soil profile maintains adequate moisture for your orchard to utilize. This can be dramatically different for every orchard depending on field characteristics. However, for most growers this means being able to percolate water at least 12” to […]
May Irrigation Stress In Almonds
Mitigating kernel stress during kernel expansion is one of the top priorities for every almond farmer in the state, but as we venture into May this priority can shift to crop protection and field sanitation. Balancing tractor work to apply pesticides with irrigations is more challenging during the month of May due to the increase […]
Early Irrigation Stress and Its Correlation with Almond Production
Early Irrigation Stress and Its Correlation with Almond Production By Brian Hanson Hortau Grower Support With temperatures in the Valley already in the tripple digits hopefully, we’ve been paying close attention to our soil and irrigating regularly, building our profile and anticipating the inevitable increase in plant demand that comes with our scorching summer temperatures. […]
