Two rising freshmen from Visalia’s El Diamonte High School served as volunteers in the UCCE Tulare County pistachio research program this summer. Kai Takehana Boring and Sophie Defty prepped foliar samples gathered from field research plots in Lost Hills, CA for nutrient analysis. These laboratory-based activities will provide baseline levels of plant nutrition at an orchard site that will house a new research trial focused on the influence of cover cropping and the implementation of grazing on soil health, plant nutrition, and overall yield in pistachio. This multi-year study was initiated by lead principal investigator, Dr. Sarah Rosenberg, UCCE Regenerative Agriculture Farm Advisor, with the southern San Joaquin Valley site managed by collaborator Dr. Elizabeth Fichtner, UCCE Tulare County Farm Advisor. A second research site is being established in Madera County, allowing for comparison of results across two distinct pistachio cultivation regions. Funding for this project was provided by the California Pistachio Research Board.
