"Trees should be firmly staked at planting"
MYTH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Read on:
Chalker-Scott, L. , Extension Specialist And Associate Professor, Washington State University
Downer, A.J., Farm Advisor, University of California
Nursery-grown shade trees are often rigidly staked to prevent blowdown and damage during cultivation. In some cases, trees are pruned to a long, untapered standard with a bushy top that requires a tight stake to hold it up. Nurseries often remove side branches from the young trunk and while this creates the illusion of a small tree, the practice actually inhibits the development of taper in the trunk (Harris, 1984; Neel and Harris, 1971). Trees without taper will not stand without staking. Poor culture of ornamental trees in nurseries necessitates staking once trees are planted into landscapes because they do not have the structural development in their trunks to stand on their own. Due to these cultivation errors, landscape installers frequently keep the nursery stake and add more stakes to firmly secure the tree in place and further prevent its movement in the landscape.
Staking takes three basic forms: rigid staking, guying, and anchoring. All methods of staking reduce development of taper, increase height growth, and decrease caliper of the developing tree relative to unstaked trees (Figure 7). Moreover, improper staking can result in increased tree breakage either during the staking period or after staking is removed (Figure 8a-b) (Thacker et al., 2018).
Decades ago, researchers discovered that movement of the trunk and branches is necessary for the development of trunk taper (Neel and Harris, 1971). Trees grown in a growth chamber without movement did not develop taper and instead grew taller, while trees in an identical chamber that were hand shaken each day developed significant taper and remained shorter.
Until trees are established in landscapes they may require some staking. In areas of high wind, guying (which involves cables staked to the ground) gives the greatest protection against main stem breakage or blowover (Alvey et al., 2009). Whatever system is used, any such hardware should be removed as soon as the tree can stand on its own:
- The traditional two stakes and ties system is the least harmful to trees staked in landscapes.
- Staking should be low and loose to allow trunk taper to develop naturally.
- Remove all staking material as soon as possible.
If a tree is not established after a year of staking, it is unlikely to ever establish
Read on:
- Author: Ben Faber
News from the Ventura County ACP-HLB Task Force
Winter 2019 area-wide treatment cycle has begun
This is a reminder that the Winter 2019 area-wide management (AWM) treatment window opened Jan.7. You are encouraged to file pesticide use reports (PURs) electronically through CalAgPermits, Agrian, or another system that allows treatments reports to be rapidly filed and recognized. Treatment reminders will be emailed (mailed for those without an email record) about 2-3 weeks prior to the treatment window. In some instances, our contact list may only have contact information for your farm manager, pest control advisor, or pest control operators. If you are not receiving emails, please contact one of your grower liaisons (see contact information below) to receive information about ACP, HLB and your citrus.
Website redesigned
The Citrus Pest & Disease Program (CPDPP) launched a redesign of its website to provide members of California's citrus industry easier access to the key maps, regulatory updates and events they need to stay informed on the fight against HLB in California. The website is at www.citrusinsider.org.
HLB confirmations continue to increase
At least 1,024 residential trees had been confirmed as infected with HLB as of January 2019. No HLB-positive trees have been found in commercial groves. The HLB quarantine boundaries and the latest tally of HLB confirmations, updated weekly, is available online at https://citrusinsider.org/maps-and-quarantines/.
Report neglected and abandoned citrus
Help prevent neglected and abandoned citrus from serving as a breeding ground for ACP and the spread of HLB by reporting its location County Agricultural Commissioner's office at (805) 388-4222. If your citrus is not worth the resources required to protect it from ACP and HLB, it may be a good time to consider removing the trees. Tree-removal assistance is offered to small growers through the California Citrus Mutual and Bayer's ACT NOW program. For more information contact Joel Reyes at jreyes@cacitrusmutual.com or (559) 592-3790.
Calendar
UCR Citrus Day (Jan. 29)
This year's UC Riverside Citrus Day will be on Tuesday, Jan. 29. Agenda and registration information can be found by clicking here.
International Research Conference on HLB/Citrus Virologist Conference (March 10-15)
The joint International HLB and Citrus Virologist conference will be at the Riverside Convention Center in Riverside, CA. Registration and more information can be found here.
Citrus Pest and Disease Prevention Committee meeting (March 12)
The CPDPC is charged with advising the state on management of the Citrus Pest and Disease Prevention Program. The CPDPC and subcommittee meetings are open to the public, and options for participation include in person or by webinar and conference call. Click here to view and register for upcoming committee and subcommittee meetings. Attendance is free.
esources
University of California ACP area-wide materials list and ACP monitoring protocols
Movement of bulk citrus materials list
Ventura County AWM maps and schedule
Citrus Pest and Disease Prevention Program
Ventura County ACP-HLB Task Force mailing list signup
Contact your grower liaisons if you have additional questions:
Sandra Zwaal
(949) 636-7089
Cressida Silvers
(805) 284-3310
- Author: Ben Faber
It's winter time and avocados and other subtropicals are prone to frost damage. Little trees especially that haven't developed a canopy that can trap heat are the most prone. So it gets cold and all the orchard looks fine, but there's one tree that doesn't look right and in a couple of days it really stands out.
Here's an example of a year old tree that turned brown and it actually looks like it was doing better than the trees surrounding. It's bigger and has a fuller canopy..... or at least it did.
But there's all the symptoms of frost damage - bronzed leaves and dead tips.
A week after the cold weather, there is already sunburn damage on the exposed stems. See the brown spots on the upper fork? That will soon turn all brown and dry up.
This is still a healthy tree with green stems, in spite of the burned leaves. Now is the time to protect the tree from sunburn damage. This is what can kill the little tree. Time to white wash it.
Why did it happen to this one tree? Maybe it was a little bigger and needed more water than the surrounding trees. Maybe sitting on a rock and didn't have enough rooting volume for water. Maybe a touch of root rot (although the roots looked pretty good even for winter time). And there were ground squirrels in the area. Easy to bklamne them.
Listen to the sound of winter frost control
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwTJveN8cIE
And when freeze damage gets extreme
https://ucanr.edu/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=16448
- Author: Ben Faber
SWEEP and Healthy Soils Grants
Opportunity Workshop
February 14, 2018
Ventura, CA
Co-sponsored by
University of California Cooperative Extension
Ventura County Farm Bureau
Ventura Co. Resource Conservation District
CA Dept of Food & Agriculture
Why: Apply for CDFA funding- State Water efficiency and Enhancement Program (SWEEP) and Healthy Soils Program (HSP).Receive up to $100,000 in grant funding to improve your on-farm water and energy efficiency and healthy soil practices through the grant funding programs. During the workshop irrigation specialists will:
- Provide a comprehensive review of SWEEP/HSP and summary of other CDFA Climate Smart Grant programs
- Guide you through the required water savings and greenhouse gas reduction calculations
- Show you how to assemble a strong grant proposal
When: Thursday, February 14, 2019
2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Where: UC Cooperative Extension office, 669 County Square Dr., Ventura 93003. California Conference room
Presenters: Andre Biscaro, Irrigation and Water Resources Advisor
Jamie Whiteford, Irrigation Specialist, Ventura/Cachuma RCDs
Khaled Bali, Irrigation Specialist, UC Kearney Agricultural Research and Extension Center
Daniele Zaccaria, Agricultural Water Management Specialist, UC Davis
Registration: To register go to: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/sweep-and-healthy-soils-grants-opportunity-workshop-tickets-54711473490
Questions: Contact Andre Biscaro, 805-645-1465, email: asbiscaro@ucanr.edu
Grant info.: Applications are due March 8, 2019 online at
https://www.cdfa.ca.gov/oefi/sweep/
https://www.cdfa.ca.gov/oefi/healthysoils/
The SWEEP/HSP provides financial assistance in the form of grants to implement irrigation systems that reduce greenhouse gases and save water on California agricultural operations. Eligible system components include (among others) soil moisture monitoring, drip systems, switching to low pressure irrigation systems, pump retrofits, variable frequency drives and installation of renewable energy to reduce on-farm water use and energy.
Please feel free to contact us if you need special accommodations.
Free One-On-One Technical Assistance to Apply for Grant Funds Need help in developing and /or submitting your project proposal? Schedule your free one-on-one Technical Assistance session, contact your local UC Cooperative Extension Office for additional information at 805-645-1465 |
The University of California prohibits discrimination or harassment of any person in any of its programs or activities. (Complete nondiscrimination policy statement can be found at http://ucanr.org/sites/anrstaff/files/107734.doc). Inquiries regarding the University's equal employment opportunity policies may be directed to Affirmative Action Contact and Title IX Officer, University of California, Agriculture and Natural Resources, 2801 2nd Street, Davis, CA 95618, (530) 750-1397; titleixdiscrimination@ucanr.edu.
- Author: Ben Faber
UC Ag Expert talks about Fuller rose beetle
Date: January 23, 2019
Time: 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Contact: Petr Kosina pkosina@ucanr.edu
Sponsor: UC Ag Experts Talk
Location: Webinar
Event Details
Register in advance for webinar at
https://ucanr.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_RIYGPBgkTo6o_hPooWlfmg
Participants of this webinar will receive 1 DPR hour of 'Other' CE units and 1 CCA hour of IPM CE units
Note: This webinar has no fee.
Dr. Beth Grafton-Cardwell, citrus IPM specialist and research entomologist, will discuss the lifecycle, damage to citrus, monitoring, methods of control and export issues associated with Fuller rose beetle. Participants can use the chat function of the webinar to ask questions.