Blue Diamond Almonds – Bloom Report – February 25, 2015

NORTHERN REGION

In contrast to recent days, the northern region enjoyed warmer daytime temperatures and significantly lower winds. Although temperatures rose to 70 degrees during the afternoon hours, early morning temperatures dropped as low as 27 degrees on the east side of the Sacramento Valley. Once exposed from the safety of their protective jackets, nutlets are highly susceptible to frost damage if exposed to the low temperatures for an extended period of time. Growers with available water will irrigate their orchard floor to encourage warming the ambient temperature in the orchard. Although temperatures surrounding some orchards were observed as low as 27 degrees, the temperature inside orchards with running water was held around 33 degrees.

Once sunrise arrived, temperatures quickly rose, providing bees with nearly ideal conditions for pollination. Bees were observed working very actively in the Butte and Padre orchards, and put in six to seven good hours of activity. Warm temperatures and sunshine continue to promote movement from bloom to the jacket stage, and small amounts of nutlets are becoming more evident. With the threat of stormy weather on the horizon, growers are keeping a close eye on Mother Nature and preparing to apply a second round of fungicide treatments.

Central Region

Clear skies and low wind speeds gave bees good opportunity to pollinate remaining flowers. Although parts of Merced County reached a low of 33 degrees, low temperatures for most of the Northern San Joaquin Valley hovered around 36 degrees. As the sun emerged, temperatures quickly rose to a high of 66 degrees. These conditions provided bees with the opportunity to put in six hours of good activity.

Petal fall has continued its slow progression due to the lower wind conditions. The warm temperatures are pushing the progression from bloom to nutlet, as more of the Nonpareil and California varieties are progressing into the jacket stage. Nutlets are continuing to emerge in the Sonora variety, as the warmer temperatures encourage the swelling of nutlets.

Growers with water available are beginning to irrigate their crop as needed. Irrigations are somewhat regionalized, as some areas received significantly more moisture than others from last weekend’s rain.

Southern Region

The slight threat of frost in the early morning hours didn’t quite materialize, as low temperatures only reached 33 degrees in the southern region. Due to the temperature, and the fact that nearly all buds are still in their protective jackets, very few growers were observed using frost protection measures. With the sunrise came warm temperatures, with a high of 64 degrees and low wind activity. Favorable weather conditions provided bees with an opportunity to put in five to seven hours of good activity.

With the dwindling bloom in the Nonpareil and its pollenizer varieties, bees are actively looking for pollen to feed on. Bees were observed working very hard in Butte and Padre orchards, and these varieties got some extra pollination in much of their freshly opened flowers. Overall, bloom has progressed steadily, with nearly all varieties well into the jacket stage. The early blooming Sonora variety is beginning to show small amounts of nutlets emerging from their protective jackets.

Growers with available water continue to irrigate where necessary and apply fertilizer as leaves emerge from the trees. With the forecast of rain in the coming days, growers are beginning another round of fungicide application, to prevent disease from forming in their trees.