On April 29, 2016, the 2^nd grade classes at Centennial Elementary in Bakersfield, CA engaged UCCE farm advisor, Elizabeth Fichtner, in a program designed to highlight the importance of science and technology in agricultural productivity in the southern San Joaquin Valley.  Local grower cooperators hosting on-farm trials conducted by UCCE researchers facilitated the collaboration between UCCE and the elementary school.  Approximately 75 students from the classes of Mrs. King, Mrs. Maybee, and Mrs. Lopez attended the program.  

Elizabeth Fichtner explains the importance of dams in agricultural productivity to 2^nd graders at Centennial Elementary School.

Those allergic to olive pollen are well aware that olive bloom in Tulare County is usually expected in mid-May. This year, however, the bloom arrived by mid-late April during a cool period in the southern San Joaquin Valley.  The coordination of bloom with cooler temperatures is fortuitous for local table olive growers producing the ‘Manzanillo' olive for the black ripe industry. High temperatures at bloom limit fruit set of ‘Manzanillo' because the andromonoecious trees (aka: hermaphroditic) lack self-compatibility in the heat.  Under optimal weather conditions at bloom, ‘Manzanillo' is self-compatible, meaning that the pollen from a perfect flower may be transferred to the pistil of the same variety (or even the same flower) for fertilization. When warm temperatures occur at bloom (ie. temperatures exceeding 87^◦F at bloom), ‘Manzanillo' pollen develops slowly resulting in reduced or no fertility. Growers mitigate the risk of heat at bloom by planting a compatible pollinator cultivar (ie. ‘Sevillano) within ‘Manzanillo' orchards, or by applying compatible pollen to solid blocks of ‘Manzanillo.'

On April 21, 2016, the olive block at Lindcove Research and Extension Center was approaching full bloom.

Kurt Schmidt, Lindcove Research and Extension Center (LREC) Superintendent and Elizabeth Fichtner, Farm Advisor, UCCE Tulare County, video-conferenced with the second grade classes of Mrs. Stella Guiry and Mrs. Jennifer Solano at Stewart School in Garden City, New York.  The outreach program was organized by Ms. Dawn Ripp, the Stewart School librarian.  Using remote conferencing technology, Elizabeth presented a powerpoint presentation to the students, highlighting the importance of science and technology for agricultural productivity, economic and environmental sustainability, and the maintenance of a healthy and safe food supply.  Students then addressed Kurt Schmidt with questions regarding his experiences as a citrus grower, from protecting trees from the cold to production of seedless varieties.  The outreach program was timed in conjunction with students planting a school garden and making mini-greenhouses out of recycled materials. 

Kurt Schmidt and Elizabeth Fichtner answer questions posed by elementary school students at Stewart School in Garden City, NY.

Students congregated in the school library video conference with Elizabeth Fichtner.

Tulare County has a new walnut rootstock observation block containing rootstocks recently generated by the Walnut Improvement Program (WIP) at UC Davis.  The last rootstock observation block in the southern San Joaquin Valley was planted in 2007 and does not contain the newest experimental genotypes that have emerged from the WIP.

The new observation block was planted at the Lindcove Research and Extension Center on April 11, 2016 and contains four experimental rootstocks and 4 commercial rootstocks including VX211, Vlach, RX1, and seedling Paradox.  All rootstocks were June-budded to the ‘Chandler' variety. The Tulare block is only one of six walnut rootstock trials established throughout the walnut growing regions of California. The project is supported by an SCRI (Specialty Crops Research Initiative) grant and by the Walnut Board of California.

Caliper diameter was measured below the graft union after planting.