- Author: Brad Hanson, UC ANR Weed Specialist
Here is an updated guide for herbicides that are registered for citrus, avocado and a few other tree crops.
- Author: Art Bliss, Avocado Grower and CAC Representative
NOTES FROM CAC MEETING
January 30, 2014
President's Report (Tom Bellamore)
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2013 crop was 2nd highest total dollar return ($ 435,000,000 with 500,000,000 lbs = $ .87 per pound average)
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Labeling initiative showing fruit was grown in California
--Staff and ad agencies feel strongly about its benefits
--Preliminary test and consumer intercepts were favorable
--Tom Bellemore and Jan DeLyser have been meeting w/ packers and several packers (Mission,
Index, WesPac) are willing to try this on a trial basis. CAC's opinion is that this becomes
more important as the market becomes more fractured with more off-shore points of origin.
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With several other Mexican states seeking entry, USDA is seeking streamlined approach to U.S. markets. CAC and APEAM jointly met with USDA to provide comments on this process.
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Polyphagus Shot-Hole Borer—CAC met w/ CDFA Secretary Karen Ross and they are proposing a “Summit” for a limited number of participants (USDA, Forest Service, EPA, Congressional delegations) to highlight the problem. Other industries haven't stepped up yet, so seeking help from CDFA to highlight this.
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Pine Tree Ranch—Open House/Field Day was held last week w/ good response from growers. Will be using this more and more as outreach, especially on cultural issues.
Industry Affairs (Ken Melban)
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Water/Metropolitan Water District
--Water cost is up 234% in 10 years.
--Currently in this drought year, the southern part of state has better supply because of
banking than northern area (San Luis Obispo/Nipomo/Arroyo Grande)
Marketing (Jan DeLyser)
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All surveys show preference for California Brand continues.
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Attributed to perception of freshness, locally grown, personal attention by grower
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The number of “heavy users” is increasing as well as total market penetration
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The importance of “California Grown” continues w/ consumers checking country of origin
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Perception of California fruit is “premium” both in the markets where CAC advertising occurs and in non-ad markets.
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Customer intercepts say Ads are memorable/likable/relevant
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This year's campaign
--This year's emphasis will be “limited season”, the “limited region capable of growing
avocados” and the longer time it takes to “hand-craft” the crop—trying to increase
perception of “premium”
--Mass ads are scheduled late-April through early-September and will be trying to support crop
when it is in the market.
--Crop size is predicted to be 280,000,000 to 300,000,000
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Global AMRIC begins this summer on voluntary basis by importers. Does not include reporting price.
Production Research (Tim Spann)
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Polyphagus Shot Hole Borer
--New finding in El Cajon which is significantly south of latest finding. Found on a golf course
with numerous sycamore tree infested. Determined by DNA to be from Taiwan rather than
the northern findings in L.A. and Orange County which seem to originate in Viet Nam and
southeast Asia
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CAC sent out Request for Proposals for rootstock breeding program. Sent out worldwide and getting interest from USDA, New Zealand, South Africa
Hass Avocado Board (Emiliano Escobedo)
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After 2 years of discussion a proposal was approved to include one representative from each producing country on the International Representation Committee. They would make recommendations and report to the HAB board who continues to make the final recommendations to the Secretary of the USDA. The composition of the HAB board remains at 7 California Growers and 5 importers.
- Author: Ben Faber
A general rule of thumb about pruning trees is that only healthy trees should be pruned. Pruning is a devitalizing practice that comes at the expense of the roots. If an avocado has root rot, make sure the tree has been treated with one of the phosphite products to get the root system healthy. A common pruning method is stumping to 3 feet and allowing regrowth to occur. A common phenomenon after stumping is that the tree puts on vigorous growth for two or three years and then collapses. All that canopy regrowth was coming from a large root system that was brought into balance with a smaller canopy. Energy is diverted from the root to fight off disease. Gradually the root system gets out of balance with a larger canopy that it can no longer support. Often when a severely impaired root system tree is pruned, it often does not have energy to push a new canopy and the tree dies. Make sure you only prune healthy trees.
- Author: Ben Faber
Several calls have come in from growers lately about yellow avocado and citrus trees. the yellowing is most common on the late summer flush leaves or can affect the whole canopy on young trees. In severe cases leaves fall. This happens going into winter after a warm fall when growing conditions are good. During the winter, the root systems become depleted of stored starch and die.
During winter, trees go into what is called a “quiescent” state, a version of dormancy found in subtropical tree crops. This is a resting mode that protects them to a certain degree from frost damage. There is not much that can be done in a field setting until temperatures warm up and the trees begin growing again in late winter/early spring. As the temperatures increase, the trees gradually recover and the foliage re-greens.
Winter Yellows can be exacerbated in years when we do not have leaching rains to remove salts from the root zone. And it can also be more severe when we have those years when winter rains just never seem to stop and rootzones become waterlogged. We may never see that time again.
Photo by Greg Moulds
- Author: Ruben Alarcon
Pollination ecologists have typically studied a focal plant species and one or a few closely related pollinator taxa, such as bumblebees, which fostered the view that plant-pollinator relationships are highly specialized. However recent community-scale studies have revealed that many pollination systems are generalized, such that plants are visited by diverse, and spatiotemporally variable, pollinator assemblages. My goal is to reconcile traditional views of "specialized" floral adaptation with ecological generalization. Specifically my lab will be incorporating aspects of pollinator foraging behavior and flower/pollinator phenotype, into the analysis of plant-pollinator communities using network techniques. To address this issue my lab is exploring several plant-pollinator systems, including sub-alpine meadows in Colorado and California, the Sonoran Desert of southern Arizona, as well as the coastal sage scrub community surrounding the CSUCI campus.
From an applied perspective my lab is also working to maintain honeybee populations for crop pollination. In the United States over 130 crops require insect pollination, with nearly one-third of our diet coming from honeybee pollination services. However, over the last several years large numbers of honeybee colonies have been lost to Colony Collapse Disorder. Working with beekeepers and growers, my lab is trying to assess the benefits of providing supplemental forage for colonies transported to California every winter to pollinate almonds. We are also available to assist Ventura County beekeepers in identifying Nosema microsporidian infections and to monitor parasitic mites.
In addition to working with honeybees my lab also studies the nesting and foraging behavior of native bees, including the Blue Orchard Bee, Osmia lignaria. By furthering our understanding of native bee biology we hope to increase their use as sustainable pollinators. In collaboration with the UC Cooperative Extensions, Ventura County, we will also be studying how native bees could be used to improve avocado pollination.