- 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
Interested in San Joaquin Valley Avocados?
When: NOVEMBER 28, Tuesday, 1PM
Where:
UC Lindcove Research and Extension Center Conference Room (22963 Carson Ave, Exeter, CA 93221), Central Valley.
Tentative Program:
Welcome and Introductions – Mary Lu Arpaia, UC Riverside
Challenges to growing avocados in the Valley
Irrigation, Fertilization and Soil Requirements – Ben Faber, UCCE, Ventura County
Avocado Root Rot and how to manage – Greg Douhan, UCCE, Tulare County
What is the California Avocado Commission and the Hass Avocado Board? – Tim Spann, California Avocado Commission, Irvine, CA
Results from the Tier 3 varietal evaluation block at UC Lindcove REC – Mary Lu Arpaia and Eric Focht, UC Riverside
Ideas for the Valley Avocado Industry – Group Discussion
Walkthrough of the Tier 3 varietal evaluation block
RSVP to Diana Nix (dlnix@ucanr.edu)
For more information contact Mary Lu Arpaia (mlarpaia@ucanr.edu)