Growing the Valley

This week, we share an episode that was TWO YEARS IN THE MAKING (if you count continually rescheduling episode recording sessions due to various conflicts and then forgetting about it for a year as making an episode). Phoebe interviews Amisha Poret-Peterson with the USDA-ARS on the basics of soil microbiology. We discuss the complexity and role of the soil microbiome, bulk soil vs

Lu Zhang provides an update on work published last year on the effect of dust on pistachio pollen, flowers, nut set, and blanking (it’s not good!). Please note that there are other physiological causes of blanking, such as incomplete pollination or aborted kernel development, and that we have not determined how much dust could contribute to blanking in the field. Also, the episod

Cover crops! They’re not just for almonds (despite the bulk of California orchard cover crop research being in that crop). Daniele Zaccaria has been conducting research on cover crops in California pistachio orchards and shares what he has found, including some interesting possibilities as to why they found higher yields in orchards with cover crops. Come to an upcoming extension

Luke Milliron and Ken Shackel (UC Davis) sit down to talk about the decade plus of research investigating when to start irrigation in the spring for walnut orchards.

In a world where it feels like we have a new invasive pest every month, sometimes it’s hard for an arthropod to stand out. Last year, the nut industries were put on notice by Carpophilus truncatus, a tiny beetle that has commandeered big attention. Lucky for us (and unluckily for the Australians), we aren’t alone in trying to figure out how to keep this beetle under control. Ho

Phoebe talks with Richard Heerema, the pecan specialist for New Mexico State University, about pecan botany and physiology, and why it may not be as good of a choice for areas prone to flooding as you think it might be. This is an episode for those who are thinking of planting pecans but have not done so. Come to an upcoming extension meeting! Sacramento Valley San Joaquin Valley (

Florent Trouillas, a professor of Cooperative Extension in plant pathology at UC Davis, describes how pistachios become infected with phytophthora and how to manage it. He also describes his research on this newly registered product. Come to an upcoming extension meeting! Sacramento Valley San Joaquin Valley (scroll to the bottom) Mention of an agrichemical does not constitute a re

Sarah Castro (UC Davis) discusses how new prune varieties can improve a grower’s bottom line!

Phoebe and Sam discuss the water outlook for 2024. Some things have changed since last year, but some things have stayed the same. Listen to the entire episode to hear a public service announcement about tequila and agave production in the state! Come to an upcoming extension meeting! Sacramento Valley San Joaquin Valley (scroll to the bottom) Mention of an agrichemical does not co

While we posted this episode all the way back in 2018, we thought we would dust it off since the information is still timely. Phoebe interviews Craig Kallsen, the now emeritus subtropical and pistachio tree crop advisor for Kern County, to talk about what we know and don’t know about dormancy in pistachios. Craig also talks about a paper he published back in 2017, looking at the