- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert jewarnert@ucanr.edu
Rains from early December in California, which some are describing as falling in "biblical" proportions, will bring welcome relief from the historic drought, reported the Olive Oil Times.
"The storm will partially replenish water supplies, but there is still a long way to go," commented Dan Flynn of the UC Davis Olive Center.
"Part of that stress influenced the crop load, which was lower than normal, and it also advanced the ripening of fruit," Vossen said. "This autumn harvest was at least two to three weeks early and was finished by Thanksgiving."
The story said the California drought cut U.S. olive oil production by 25 percent.
“The rainfall we are receiving right now is welcome for refilling the soil profiles, so that the olive trees can start off next spring with good growth,” Vossen said. “It is also a relief to see enough rain to start to see a replenishment of our reservoirs, so that irrigation water will once again be plentiful for next summer's needs. Even though we may get some temporary flooding, all in all, this rainfall is a welcome thing.”
- Editor: Karen Giovannini
- Author: Paul Vossen pmvossen@ucanr.edu
UCCE Sonoma Specialty Crops Advisor, Paul Vossen, recently published Monitoring & Control of Olive Fruit Fly (OLF) for Oil Production in California in CAPCA Adviser, December edition.
This article culminates more than five years of research and observation on the control of Olive Fruit Fly (OLF) and outlines the techniques for growers to follow to achieve adequate control and to produce high quality (defect free) olive oil in the face of this new pest.
The biology of the insect is covered so that producers can better understand what conditions favor it. Unfortunately, OLF has the ability to multiply very rapidly, devastating the crop, and rendering it un-harvestable. Reported research shows how monitoring adult fly numbers with traps can be deceiving and that looking at the actual damage to fruit (insect stings) is a much more accurate measure of potential damage at harvest. Next, the article evaluates the effectiveness of the main control measures with mass trapping and different spray materials. It also discusses the level and type of fruit damage (threshold) that begins to affect oil flavor, basically indicating the advantages of early harvest.
- Author: Karen Giovannini
Maybe you know about the 4-H and Master Gardener programs, but we also have Livestock & Range Management, Viticulture, Integrated Pest Management, Specialty Crop and Marine Science advisors.
In addition, we have the Agropreneurship Beginning Farmers & Ranchers Program, the Sudden Oak Death Program, the Endangered Coho Recovery Program and an Agriculture Ombudsman.
Read all about the great work we are doing in our 2012 Annual Report.
