- (Focus Area) Agriculture
- Author: Michael Hsu
Growers, UC Cooperative Extension researchers offer guidance on producing high-quality olives
Facing a deluge of lower-price products from Europe, the California olive oil industry is doubling down on its clear-cut competitive edge: the consistent and bona fide quality of its oil.
“Olive Production Manual for Oil,” a new book published by University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources, aims to help California olive growers maximize that advantage.
“It's a tough market to compete in, but I think the way to win for California is to compete on quality,” said book co-editor Selina Wang, a UC Cooperative Extension specialist in the UC Davis Department of Food Science and Technology. “The quality of California olive oil is unmatched, but you can't make good quality olive oil with bad fruit, so the goal is to get more fruit from the trees – and for the fruits to be high-quality fruit.”
The 273-page manual, available for purchase online, is the first of its kind in the U.S. While some parts of the book are specific to California (which grows nearly all of the olives for domestically produced olive oil), most of the material would be useful to producers in other states, Wang noted.
“Through our conversations with growers, it became clear to us that a manual like this – not a scientific publication but a manual that is easy to follow, written in language that is accessible, and with pictures and illustrations – would be really helpful to the growers,” she said.
Growth of California olive oil industry necessitated creation of manual
Aside from a book focused predominantly on table olives and another on organic olive production (by UCCE farm advisor emeritus Paul Vossen), there was no one-stop, comprehensive resource on the bookshelf for oil olive growers. The need for such a manual had become more acute as oil olives replaced table olives in California orchards during the last 20 years.
Whereas harvesting by hand was historically cost-prohibitive, the introduction of super-high-density planting systems in 1999 made oil olive production more economically feasible. Mechanical pruning and harvesting of new cultivars (Arbequina, Arbosana and Koroneiki) – specifically bred for these densely planted orchards – led to the rapid expansion of oil olives in the state. According to a U.S. Department of Agriculture report, California olive oil production jumped from 2 million pounds in 2006 to an average of 21 million pounds in 2021–23.
With about 37,000 acres of oil olives planted across California, the Olive Oil Commission of California saw the need to support the production of this manual. Championed by Dan Flynn, founder and executive director emeritus of the UC Davis Olive Center, Wang and co-editor Louise Ferguson outlined the contents of the book. They then sought out a mix of growers and industry professionals and UCCE advisors and specialists to write its chapters.
“Most of the information is data-based, from people who are working with the olives,” said Ferguson, a UC Cooperative Extension pomologist at UC Davis. “This is the first data-based olive oil production manual we've had.”
Manual infused with firsthand insights, practical recommendations
Hard-earned experience taught growers a valuable lesson that is conveyed in the book – the need to hand-prune. While mechanical pruning helps control the size of the trees, some hand-pruning is still required to allow light to filter to the leaves. Failing to do so leads to a dramatic decrease in yield.
“That happened in many of the orchards that were inexperienced in these new cultivars and new super-high-density planting systems,” Ferguson said.
She added that other key topics in the manual include irrigation management in a water-constrained state, nitrogen management, harvest timing and orchard site selection. Choosing a good spot for planting is crucial in this era of extreme climate volatility, Ferguson noted, as olive trees are significantly affected by temperature shocks in spring (fruit set) and fall (harvest).
For Wang, another overarching theme in the manual is the importance of testing. Testing the soil, water and leaves provides critical data that growers can use to adjust their inputs and production practices for optimal profitability.
“You may spend a couple hundred dollars on the lab work, but it will pay off, for sure – you're going to increase the health and productivity of your trees,” Wang explained. “Oil olive growers are paid based on the oil content in their fruit; you not only want to have a lot of fruit on the trees, you want to make sure that your fruit are accumulating oil.”
California oil olive growers, practices continue to evolve
Wang and Ferguson hope their book will help California producers compete more effectively in the global marketplace. Currently, about 90% of the olive oil consumed in the U.S. is imported from Mediterranean countries, due primarily to the lower price point. In that region, producers tend to harvest riper olives that produce oil at a greater volume but lesser quality.
In contrast, California growers harvest earlier and produce oil that is higher quality (with more flavor and more antioxidants) and far exceeds accepted standards for “extra virgin olive oil.”
According to Wang, California olive oil mills have nearly maximized their efficiency, and the growth opportunity for the industry is in the orchards: to optimize practices to produce more fruit, and to plant more trees. Wang said the new manual can help on both fronts.
“Just like for other crops, focusing on quality – while increasing efficiency and productivity, and therefore profitability – is the name of the game,” she said.
Ferguson also stressed that knowledge continues to evolve and urged growers to reach out to the editors and chapter authors with their experiences.
“Most of the authors are in California and they're working,” she said. “So if you start to notice things that are different, or you want more information or something is not clear, the authors are available.”
The manual can be purchased at https://anrcatalog.ucanr.edu/Details.aspx?itemNo=3559.
/h3>/h3>/h3>/h3>- Author: Ben A Faber
Each year the California Avocado Commission partners with Land IQ to produce a Statewide Avocado Acreage and Condition Analysis report utilizing digital satellite imagery, aerial photography and analytical tools to survey California avocado groves. This data helps the Commission make informed budgeting and marketing decisions and provides industry members with spatial data concerning crop type, location, condition and density. See the full 2023 Report HERE.
According to the report:
- In 2023 there were 52,534 planted avocado acres
- The majority of growing acreage is located in Ventura, San Diego, Santa Barbara, Riverside and San Luis Obispo Counties with a total of 50,818 planted acres
- The five top-producing counties reported 1,059 new/young acres and 3,399 topped/stumped acres
The report also provides acreage data by zip code, county, condition, year planted and density.
The California Avocado Commission's crop estimating team in conjunction with Land IQ uses the latest in remote sensing techniques to assess avocado acreage in production. As technology continues to advance refinements in our fourth generation of remote sensing techniques were applied to satellite imagery collected during spring and summer months. The imagery processing techniques include; segmentation into homogenous polygons, retention of tree crop polygons, calculation of average crop canopy moisture and vegetation indices, analysis of change maps from previous inventories, and classification of avocado groves into four categories; producing, topped/stumped, new/young, and abandoned. Aerial imagery (for a real-world view), and satellite imagery (for spectral and temporal data) are integrated into previously classified avocado acreage and analyzed for current condition of California avocado acreage statewide.
from CA Ag Net: https://californiaagnet.com/2024/07/29/california-avocado-acreage-increases-2023-report-available/
- Author: Emily Kraus
Hello Small Farms Community! My name is Emily Kraus and I am excited to announce that I have joined the UCCE Small Farms team in Fresno. Back in June (2024), I made the treck to Fresno from Florida. I had a little time to settle in before beginning my new role here in July. Since then I have been BUSY trying to figure out how to serve the community of small farmers in the area. Please read on to learn a little more about me and my hopes for the program.
My Background
My journey began like many others, with one step out the door of my parents' home in Indiana. The first big stop was at Purdue University where I received my B.S. in Entomology, the study of insects! The projects I worked on there involved biological control of soybean aphid and genetic work on the human body louse. Both agricultural and medical entomology were interesting to me and I had a hard time deciding which to pursue. I ended up going to Kansas State University next where I completed my M.S. in entomology with a focus on mosquitoes. It turned out I didn't like being indoors all the time so I decided to join the U.S. Peace Corps as a Sustainable Agriculture Extension Agent. They sent me to Senegal West Africa! That was an amazing experience.
From there I decided to continue to pursue agriculture and worked briefly at Monsanto before going on to Louisiana State University. There I did my PhD work in rice production. I loved working on the universities rice farm and talking to rice growers at Extension meetings. Ultimately, I graduated and had to decide what to do next. I decided to do a postdoctoral fellowship at Rhodes University in South Africa. There I worked on biological control of invasive weeds. It was very interesting work. There are not many places where your field work might put you in a river with crocodiles and hippos!
When I came back to the U.S. I wanted to move to Florida to spend more time with my family. First, I worked at the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS). This role also involved biological control of invasive pests. I learned about the Asian citrus psyllid and met a whole new group of farmers. After a few years I switched over to the University of Florida and spent two years in the Pesticide Information Office as an Extension Scientist. It was from this work that I learned all about becoming a certified pesticide applicator. The only problem was that there was no research opportunity in this position which is one of many reasons I wanted to become a Farm Advisor here in Fresno.
Getting Started in Fresno
It has taken me a couple of months to get going in this role. Many of you reading this know I am coming in after Ruth Dalquist-Willard. Due to her extensive success I have quite a large program to take over! I have been spending my time meeting the team and making connections with other organizations in the area. Also, I have made a point to get out on the farms. There is so much diversity in the small farms in this region and it seems it could take a lifetime to learn about them all.
As a team we intend to continue many of the projects that Ruth had going. These include investigating benefits of cover crops and compost, working with growers to pass food safety inspections, supporting growers with information on pesticide regulations, trouble-shooting various issues with water access and quality, and tracking the expansion of new pests like the Mexican Rice Borer. There is no shortage of things to do! As I learn more about the specialty crops and challenges our stakeholders face, I am designing new projects and will be keeping the team busy!
Looking Forward to Meeting You!
The most important part of getting started in this role is for me to meet our partners and stakeholders. Please reach out and introduce yourself! I will certainly be making the rounds to local farms and networking events, but don't hesitate to put yourself on my radar. The team here in Fresno is excited to continue to serve our stakeholders as I transition into this role. We want to hear about your concerns and figure out how we can continue to support small farms in Fresno and Madera counties, as well as contribute to projects across the state. I'm looking forward to meeting you!
/h2>/h2>/h2>/h2>
- Author: Ben A Faber
Get an airblast sprayer in the right condition so it can do its job right.
Read a summary of calibrating an airblast sprayer
https://www.sacvalleyorchards.com/almonds/foliar-diseases/pre-season-airblast-sprayer-calibration/
Using a calibration guide
https://ccag-eh.ucanr.edu/files/241473.pdf
Read it as written by Lynn and Franz
https://ucanr.edu/sites/ucexpertstalk/files/328586.pdf
or watch it as played by Peter
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c48h75tb-CY
or take the course on calibration for CEU credits
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
YSP is a six-week summer residential program that introduces several dozen high-achieving high school students to original research within the fields of biological, agricultural, environmental, or the natural sciences.
The lab of nematologist Shahid Siddique, associate professor, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, mentored Anderson Van Wang, a 17-year-old senior at California City High School, Kern County, and Mason Walline, now 18, and a senior at Harvard-Westlake School, Los Angeles.
Anderson worked with doctoral student Veronica Casey of the Siddique lab to investigate the effects of bacterial supernatant to plant parasitic nematodes. Walline worked with Ching-Jung Lin, a doctoral student in the Siddique lab and the lab of Professor Gitta Coaker, Department to Plant Pathology, to transiently express nematode proteins in the plant system.
Also mentoring them were Siddique and lab members Bardo Castro Esparza, a postdoctoral fellow; and Alison Blundell, a doctoral candidate.
Each scholar receives five units of University Group Study Credit. All work is graded. Not only do they engage in university-level course work, attend lectures, and work on their projects, but they experience “the climate and culture of living and learning on a university campus,” according to YSP director Megan Bettis.
Mason won second-place honors in the research competition, the "YSP Summer Slam" (Elevator Pitch or short-version), competing with some 35 other students. His topic: “Advancing Transient Nematode Peptide Expression: A Pathway to Co-Immunoprecipitation Optimization." Said Lin: "He delivered a compelling two-minute presentation with a single slide. His expertise and professionalism were evident, and he was awarded second-place among the six finalists."
Neither plans a career as a nematologist, but what an amazing program and what an amazing experience.
“Working in Dr. Shahid Siddique's lab was an absolutely amazing experience," Anderson said.
“The lab environment was very high energy and upbeat," said Mason. "I'm so glad I was a temporary part of such a strong and inclusive community.”
And they learned a lot about nematodes.
Siddique defines plant-parasitic nematodes as "destructive pests causing losses of billions of dollars annually. Economic, health, and environmental considerations make natural host plant resistance a preferred strategy for nematode control, but there are limitations to this approach. In many cases, the resistance conferred by resistance genes is partial, and some of the nematodes are able to survive. Similarly, nematode resistance genes are often effective against only one or a few species, whereas plants are exposed to several pathogens in the field. Another concern is the emergence of pathotypes that can overcome resistance. In view of all these limitations, it is important to identify additional mechanisms and tools that can be used to develop novel and sustainable approaches to the management of nematodes."
The 2025 YSP summer program is set June 22-Aug. 2, with applications opening Jan. 15. High school students can apply at https://ysp-app.ucdavis.edu/.