Blue Diamond Almonds Bloom Report for February 16, 2016

Northern Region –

This report covers conditions and observations made on Tuesday, February 16, 2016.

Bloom progression in the northern region continued to make big strides as above-normal temperatures remained overnight and throughout the day Tuesday. Daytime temperatures continued to push into the mid 70s and early morning temperatures remained in the upper 40s. With these optimal conditions, observers reported 8 hours of very good bee activity.

An almond orchard featuring Nonpareil and Butte varieties in the Durham area of Butte County

Nonpareil and its California-type pollenizers are approaching peak bloom as flowers have opened rapidly over the past 36 hours. The warm temperatures have also accelerated bloom in the later blooming Butte and Padre varieties as they are now showing a substantial number of flowers presenting for pollination throughout the region. The Sonora and Peerless varieties have likely achieved peak numbers of flowers presenting for pollination, and measurable petal fall is being reported along with traces of flowers that have lost all of their petals.

With rain in the forecast for Wednesday and Thursday, growers have worked hard to get fungicide treatments across their orchards using both air and ground applications. Many growers are also putting out fertilizers so that they can be incorporated into the soil with the upcoming precipitation. Rainfall and strong winds may accelerate petal fall in earlier blooming varieties, and growers are waiting anxiously to find out the severity and impacts of the upcoming weather.

Central Region –

It was another beautiful day in the Northern San Joaquin Valley with warm weather and clear skies. Overnight lows in the low 50s gave way to daytime highs in the mid 70s. Calm winds and clear skies made for excellent pollinating weather as bees were able to put in 7 to 8 hours of excellent work.

The almond bloom is well under way in Central California.

The warm weather in the central region continues to advance bloom quickly. Nonpareil and its California-type pollinizers now have over half of their flowers presenting for pollination. The early blooming Sonora variety is beginning to shed petals and has almost three quarters of its flowers presenting for pollination. Monterey and Carmel varieties are roughly a day behind Nonpareil. The late blooming Butte variety is advancing rapidly, as almost one third of its flowers are presenting for pollination while the Padre variety is about a day behind. Variety synchronization throughout the region’s orchards appears ideal as most trees are blooming in lock step with one another.

Fungicide treatments should be completed by Wednesday to allow enough time for the material to dry before the anticipated rain.

An almond grower mowing the grasses in his orchard in the Salida area

Southern Region –

It was another warm, clear day in the South San Joaquin Valley as bloom continues to progress at a quick pace. Overnight lows with some patchy fog gave way to daytime highs in the mid 70s and plenty of sunshine. Bees were out in full force for a solid 7 hours.

Bloom is taking a big step forward in the southern region. Early blooming Sonora is rapidly approaching peak numbers of flowers presenting for pollination, increasing by more than 20% in 24 hours. Big advances have also been observed in other varieties as well. Nonpareil, Monterey, and California type pollinizers all advanced 30% or more from the previous day. These varieties will likely reach peak numbers of flowers presenting for pollination in the coming days. Carmel continues to progress a day or two behind Nonpareil, and the first measureable number of flowers presenting for pollination was observed in late blooming Butte and Padre. With the majority of the buds exhibiting pink tissue emerging from the sepals it is likely their bloom will progress like the earlier blooming varieties. Variety synchronization remains consistent within individual orchards making for a fairly even bloom.

The pink tip stage of the Fritz almond variety.

Most fungicide treatments have been made prior to Wednesday’s anticipated wet weather. Growers with access to water are irrigating ahead of the rain to strengthen the moisture profile in their soil. Orchard floor maintenance continues in order to maintain manageable vegetative growth.