Blue Diamond Almonds Bloom Report for February 22, 2016

This report covers conditions and observations made on Monday, February 22, 2016.

 

Northern Region –

Morning lows dipped into the low 40s, but clear skies and sunshine warmed the air quickly as temperatures rose into the low 70s throughout the Sacramento Valley. Winds from the north reached 8 to 10 miles per hour in the morning, with gusts of 14 to 16 miles per hour reported along the west side of the valley. With the warm morning temperatures, bees were able to get out and work by mid-morning. Observers reported 6 to 7 hours of good activity in areas where winds were lighter.

With bloom in the northern region winding down and moving well into the jacket stage, the later blooming Butte and Padre varieties still have measurable amounts of bloom available for pollination. Windy, warm conditions have accelerated the rate of petal fall. The Sonora variety has completely exited the bloom stage, with Nonpareil and its California-type pollenizers quickly losing their remaining petals. In these earlier varieties, nutlets are beginning to be seen poking through their jackets although no jacket split is being observed.

Growers are continuing to apply nitrogen where necessary to help support their quickly developing crop. Those with access to water are irrigating to soak fertilizers into the root zone, and making sure that their irrigation systems are working properly in the event they’re needed for frost protection.

Northern Region
Date	2/22/2016
Temperature
High	Low
70	41
Wind Speed	8 to 10 mph
Clouds	Clear
Bee Activity	6 to 7 Hours / Good

Bloom Stages
Percentages	Dormant	Green Tip	Pink Bud	Popcorn	Bloom	Petal Fall	Jacket	Nutlet	Total
Sonora						11	89		100
Nonpareil					11	40	49		100
California					9	36	55		100
Carmel					21	42	37		100
Peerless						5	95		100
Monterey					12	30	58		100
Butte					36	44	20		100
Padre				1	36	44	17		100

 

Central Region –

Sunshine and warm weather is returning to the Northern San Joaquin Valley. Overnight temperatures in the low 40s gave way to daytime highs in the high 60s. Clouds were sparse and winds were relatively calm, making for very good flying conditions for bees most of the day.

Bloom is continuing to wind down in the central region with more petals shedding every hour. Sonora is almost out of viable flowers and over two-thirds of the flowers have lost all of their petals. Nonpareil, Monterey, and California-type pollinizers have just over one-quarter of their flowers presenting for pollination while most of the flowers are either shedding their petals or have lost them completely. Carmel remains a day behind Nonpareil. Butte and Padre are past their maximum number of flowers presenting for pollination and trending downward with close to one-third of their flowers losing petals.

Growers with access to water in the western part of the region are irrigating as necessary to deepen their moisture profile. Weed control continues in various forms as warmer temperatures and plentiful soil moisture stimulate weed growth.

Central Region
Date	2/22/2016
Temperature
High	Low
68	38
Wind Speed	6 to 8 mph
Clouds	Mostly Sunny
Bee Activity	7 Hours / Very Good

Bloom Stages
Percentages	Dormant	Green Tip	Pink Bud	Popcorn	Bloom	Petal Fall	Jacket	Nutlet	Total
Sonora					11	27	62		100
Nonpareil					24	43	33		100
California					22	45	33		100
Carmel					36	37	27		100
Monterey					28	44	28		100
Butte					50	33	17		100
Padre					62	33	5		100

 

Southern Region –

Warm, sunny weather made its return to the South San Joaquin Valley on Monday. Overnight temperatures in the low 40s quickly gave way to afternoon highs in the upper 60s. Skies were clear and winds were calm making for very good bee weather. Bees were able to put in seven solid hours of forage time.

Bloom is beginning to wind down in the southern region. All varieties have achieved their maximum number of open flowers and are now beginning to shed petals. The early blooming Sonora only has one-third of its flowers presenting for pollination, while just over one-third of its flowers have lost their petals completely. Nonpareil, Monterey, Carmel, and California-type pollenizers have under half of their flowers presenting for pollination while over one-fifth of their flowers have shed all petals. The Butte variety has 40% of its flowers shedding petals while the Padre cultivar is a day behind.

Herbicide applications continue where needed and flail mowing was observed over much of the region as warmer weather and adequate moisture spurred weed growth. Growers with significant amounts of viable flowers left are applying a second round of fungicides as they deem necessary.

Southern Region
Date	2/22/2016
Temperature
High	Low
67	41
Wind Speed	5 to 7 mph
Clouds	Clear
Bee Activity	7 Hours / Very Good

Bloom Stages
Percentages	Dormant	Green Tip	Pink Bud	Popcorn	Bloom	Petal Fall	Jacket	Nutlet	Total
Sonora					33	31	36		100
Nonpareil					46	32	22		100
California					38	42	20		100
Carmel					48	32	20		100
Monterey					47	32	21		100
Butte					60	38	2		100
Padre					71	29			100