- Author: Santosh Bhandari
- Author: Elizabeth J Fichtner
The 2024 Statewide Pistachio Day attracted over 600 attendees to the Visalia Convention Center on January 17, 2023. This annual event is designed to extend research conducted by University of California scientists to the growers, ranch managers, PCAs, and other members of allied industries, who translate the information into tangible practices affected production.
The 2024 meeting was hosted by Elizabeth Fichtner, Farm Advisor, UCCE Tulare County and David Haviland, Farm Advisor, Kern County. The event was divided into three sessions moderated by Jorge Angeles, Farm Advisor UCCE Tulare County, Tobias Oker, Farm Advisor UCCE Kern County, and David Haviland, Farm Advisor UCCE Kern County. Coffee, breakfast, and luncheon were sponsored by the California Pistachio Research Board and numerous corporate sponsors.
Robert Klein, manager of the California Pistachio Research Board, provided updates from the California Pistachio Research Board on pistachio production and consumption. During the morning session, researchers from the University of California provided information on different aspects of pistachio culture including economics, climatic considerations, breeding, fertility, cover cropping, satellite remote sensing, and mechanical harvesting. The afternoon session focused on pest management issues, including disease and insect management, as well as nematode management. Researchers discussed implementation of sterile insect technique for management of navel orangeworm, monitoring programs for leaffooted bug, insecticide programs for Gill's mealybug and insights on Carpophilus, a recently-identified pest in California. During the coffee and luncheon breaks, participants interacted with the sponsors hosting booths in the trade show area. The event concluded with a Pest Management Question and Answer session that facilitated conversation between researchers and the grower and PCA communities.
- Author: Pamela Kan-Rice
Mediante el uso de CalAgroClimate los agricultores de California pueden ver cómo las condiciones climáticas que pueden afectar a la agricultura están cambiando en sus regiones y de esta forma realizar cambios estratégicos. Se han añadido nueve nuevos indicadores climáticos de importancia agrícola a la herramienta de apoyo a la toma de decisiones creada por científicos de Extensión Cooperativa de la UC y del Departamento de Agricultura de EE. UU.
Estas nuevas herramientas utilizan un conjunto de datos climáticos de alta resolución llamado PRISM para proporcionar tendencias a largo plazo de indicadores agroclimáticos desde 1980 hasta el año pasado, específicos de cada lugar o agregados por condado. Estos nuevos indicadores agroclimáticos incluyen los días de heladas, la última helada de primavera, la primera helada de otoño, la estación sin heladas, las noches tropicales, los días calurosos, los días de calor extremo, las olas de calor y la amplitud térmica diurna (véanse las definiciones más abajo). Estos indicadores proceden de un estudio publicado en la revista Agronomy.
"Por ejemplo, si usted está planeando invertir en un cultivo sensible a las heladas en su región, estos indicadores pueden proporcionar información valiosa sobre si el riesgo de heladas ha cambiado con el tiempo y si es menos arriesgado hacer esa inversión", dijo. "Las uvas de vino, por ejemplo, son muy sensibles a las heladas. Aunque no todas las heladas son perjudiciales, comprender las tendencias a largo plazo de las heladas puede ayudar a tomar decisiones estratégicas a largo plazo, como la de invertir o no en protecciones contra las heladas”.
Otro conjunto de nuevos indicadores agroclimáticos, en CalAgroClimate -Noches tropicales, Días calurosos, Días de calor extremo, Olas de calor y Rango de temperatura diurna- se basan en temperaturas máximas y mínimas más elevadas. Noches tropicales, por ejemplo, calcula el número total de noches en las que las temperaturas nocturnas superan los 68 F. Las noches tropicales más frecuentes pueden aumentar las tasas de respiración de los cultivos y ser perjudiciales para la calidad y cantidad de la fruta, aumentar el riesgo de daños por patógenos y afectar potencialmente al cuajado y rendimiento de la fruta.
Conocer la evolución de las tendencias a lo largo del tiempo puede ayudar a los agricultores a gestionar sus cultivos para reducir los riesgos. Del mismo modo, los agricultores pueden consultar fácilmente las tendencias relacionadas con el calor -días calurosos, calor extremo y olas de calor- en CalAgroClimate para evaluar sus opciones sobre lo que deben hacer para adaptarse. A corto plazo, los agricultores pueden poner sombra o, a largo plazo, elegir variedades más tolerantes al calor.
"En un trabajo publicado recientemente, uno de los agricultores del Valle Central nos dijo: 'Cuando realmente ves tanta diferencia en poco tiempo en tu área ... tendríamos que mirar eso y decir, bueno, vamos a tener que adaptar las variedades porque esta es una siembra de 20 o 25 años y vamos a tener que encontrar cultivos o variedades que se adapten a eso'", dijo Pathak.
Otro agricultor nos dijo: "Sabiendo lo que va a pasar o al menos teniendo una buena idea, si sabes que algo se va a convertir o no va a ser viable, entonces obviamente vas a tratar de eliminarlo gradualmente, e introducir algo que sea más adecuado".
Pathak añadió: "Los nuevos indicadores agroclimáticos de CalAgroClimate ofrecen una visión realista de cómo están cambiando las condiciones a corto y largo plazo, lo que significa para los agricultores y les ayudan a decidir qué deben hacer para adaptarse. Estas herramientas beneficiarán enormemente a los agricultores y a la clientela agrícola a la hora de evaluar los riesgos y tomar decisiones con conocimiento de causa".
Otros colaboradores son Steven Ostoja y Lauren Parker, del Centro Climático de California del Departamento de Agricultura de Estados Unidos, Prakash Kumar Jha, de Agricultura y Recursos Naturales de la Universidad de California, y Robert Johnson y Shane Feirer, de Informática y Sistemas de Información Geográfica de Agricultura y Recursos Naturales de la Universidad de California.
Definiciones de los indicadores agroclimáticos:
Días de helada son los días del año en que la temperatura mínima es inferior o igual a 32F.
Última helada de primavera es el día más tardío de la primavera en que la temperatura mínima es inferior o igual a 32F.
Primera helada de otoño es el primer día de otoño en que la temperatura mínima es igual o inferior a 32°F.
Temporada sin heladas es el tiempo transcurrido entre la última helada de primavera y la primera helada de otoño, representado por el número de días consecutivos en un año sin temperaturas bajo cero.
Noches tropicales: número de noches en las que las temperaturas superan los 68 ºF.
Días calurosos son los días al año con temperaturas máximas superiores a 100 °F.
Los días de calor extremo son el número de días al año con temperaturas máximas superiores al percentil 98 de la temperatura máxima histórica de verano para la localidad seleccionada.
Las olas de calor son eventos que se producen cuando el calor extremo dura al menos tres días consecutivos.
La amplitud térmica diurna es la diferencia entre las temperaturas máximas y mínimas diarias.
Adaptado al español por Diana Cervantes del artículo en inglés.
- Author: Mike Hsu
Professor of Cooperative Extension shares career story, appreciation for UC Davis
After growing up in northern British Columbia, in a remote smelter town called Kitimat (“an 8-hour drive from the nearest McDonald's”), University of California Professor of Cooperative Extension Linda J. Harris embarked on an academic journey that crisscrossed North America and eventually led to her election as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
AAAS, the world's largest multidisciplinary scientific society and publisher of the journal Science, recently announced the election of its 2021 class, which will be inducted during its annual meeting, Feb. 17-20.
In addition to Harris – a faculty member in UC Davis' Department of Food Science and Technology – four other UC Agriculture and Natural Resources affiliates will be inducted: Helene Dillard, dean of the UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences; Kathryn Uhrich, dean of the UC Riverside College of Natural and Agricultural Sciences; and UC Berkeley Professors Rodrigo Almeida and Paolo D'Odorico.
Harris, a Certified Food Scientist, recently shared her thoughts on the value of extension work, her contributions to the field, UC Davis' support for women in academia, and the arc of her career journey.
How did you get your start in food science and microbiology?
I was interested in science at an early age. As an undergraduate student at the University of Victoria in Victoria, B.C., I enrolled in biochemistry at the suggestion of my high school biology teacher. In my second year, I switched to the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Alberta and decided to review the course catalog – a paper version! When I got to the section on Food Science, the applied nature of the field just sounded right and I never looked back.
However, I didn't do particularly well in microbiology as an undergraduate student – too much memorization for me. At the end of my B.S. I was ready for a job in the food industry and took the very first job I was offered – ironically enough as a dairy microbiologist in a quality control lab. Thankfully, that job opened my eyes to the possibilities in microbiology. What was memorization turned into something I learned through doing and I was hooked.
Two years later, I was ready to go back to school and contacted a professor of food safety microbiology at the University of Alberta who fortunately had funding for me. During my M.S. degree in food microbiology, he encouraged me to pursue the Ph.D. – which was not something I had ever considered – and that led me to leave Canada and head to North Carolina State University and a Ph.D. in microbiology in the Food Science Department, where I worked on a project related to the fermentation of sauerkraut.
I did have one publication related to food safety during my time at NC State, and when I took my first faculty position back in Canada [University of Guelph in Ontario] I continued to work in food safety, mostly with meat and meat products.
I am so glad that I saw the advertisement for my current position and that I followed my instincts to apply for the job. The opportunities to grow professionally and to work in the food safety area at UC Davis, within the Cooperative Extension network in California, and with collaborators across the U.S., and around the world, have been enormous, and I am extremely grateful for the path that led me here.
February 11 is the United Nations-designated “International Day of Women and Girls in Science.” How has UC Davis supported women in your scientific field?
My career in STEM [science, technology, engineering and math] has been very rewarding and many of the gender barriers I faced early on have been addressed. I feel very fortunate to have landed at UC Davis and I am thankful that there is a long history of addressing these barriers at this institution.
When I was hired in 1996, the Department of Food Science and Technology was about 25% women and both the department chair and dean of the college were women. I had never been in a department or college with so many women faculty, including in positions of leadership. It was a very important consideration in my move. Today our department is 50% women and I proudly served for five years as the second woman department chair, from 2016 to 2021.
As a first-generation university graduate raised by a single mother, you have a unique perspective in encouraging young people on their path toward a STEM career. What advice do you have for them?
To those contemplating a career in STEM, I would say: be open to new opportunities and adventures – you never know where they may lead you. Get involved in leadership in any capacity you can from student organizations or around other things that interest you. Skills that you learn with these types of activities will be invaluable to your career.
I am very much an introvert and had to work hard to overcome my fear of public speaking. In addition to leadership roles in student clubs, I joined Toast Masters while working on my Ph.D. These activities had a huge impact on building my confidence and helped influence my career choices.
In the AAAS Fellows announcement, it says you were elected for “contributions to the field of food safety microbiology, especially related to control of Salmonella and other pathogens in low-moisture foods and fresh produce.” Is that your proudest achievement in the field?
I am most proud of the work described by that short statement especially as it applies to California-grown commodities. I would say that my laboratory is best known for work with the tree nut industry – almonds, pistachios and walnuts, as well as a range of types of fresh produce grown in this state.
My laboratory has worked to understand behavior, movement, prevalence, and especially control of foodborne pathogens like Salmonella during production in the field through harvest and postharvest handling all the way through to consumer practices.
I have been fortunate to have many terrific state, national and international collaborators and an outstanding group of people working in my laboratory as we set the foundation for some of the food safety research in tree nuts and produce. It has been most gratifying to watch the significant growth in these fields of investigation, especially with a new generation of scientists that span the country and beyond.
Another “hat” you wear is UC Cooperative Extension specialist. How have you contributed to food safety knowledge and practices in our communities?
I think you will see that my “hats” are not that different. The research from my laboratory has provided the foundation for several commodity-based, food-safety risk assessments – for almonds, pistachios, and walnuts. And these, in turn, have been used in support of regulations or helped guide implementation of safer food industry practices. Our research has also informed several publications aimed at consumer handling of fresh fruits and vegetables and has been cited in regulations pertaining to fresh produce safety. It is gratifying to see our research being used.
My research and extension work are very integrated. One feeds the other. Because I have been able to interact with stakeholders (especially integral to my position as a Cooperative Extension specialist), I have been able to understand firsthand some of the pressing food-safety issues and challenges in California. These stakeholder interactions have largely formed the basis for most of my research and extension grant proposals over the years. The collaborations that have resulted from extension activities have opened doors and access to many unique opportunities for sample collection and research exploration.
/h3>/h3>/h3>/h3>/h3>/h2>- Author: Pamela Kan-Rice
The popularity of pistachios as a healthy snack continues to drive demand. California's pistachio crop was valued at $1.94 billion in 2019, according to the California Department of Food and Agriculture.
For growers considering planting an orchard, the costs and returns of establishing and producing pistachios in the southern San Joaquin Valley are outlined in a new study by UC ANR's Agricultural Issues Center, UC Cooperative Extension and the UC Davis Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics.
“New growers use this information to create their budget for production loans for their bank,” said Jeffrey Gibbons, plant manager of Setton Pistachio of Terra Bella. “Owners use this information so they can be assured their farm managers are not overcharging them for farming costs. Farm managers use this information to see how they compare to the industry. Setton Pistachio uses this information to project budgets for future planting scenarios.”
UC Cooperative Extension specialists and farm advisors routinely refer people interested in planting pistachios to the cost study.
“I use this every time I have a new grower,” said Louise Ferguson, UC Cooperative Extension specialist in the UC Davis Department of Plant Sciences and co-author of the study. “It not only gives a good estimate of establishment and production costs, and projected net returns, but ensures no details are missed in planning. It is an invaluable template for pistachio production.”
Elizabeth Fichtner, UC Cooperative Extension orchard systems advisor for Kings and Tulare counties, agreed. “The cost study documents are one of the first resources I assemble for new growers.”
The new study estimates the costs and returns of establishing and producing pistachios using low-volume drip irrigation in the southern San Joaquin Valley. The hypothetical orchard is planted at 128 trees per acre, with an expected life span of 40 years.
The authors describe the assumptions used to identify current costs for pistachio establishment and production, material inputs, cash and non-cash overhead and a ranging analysis table, which shows profits over a range of prices and yields.
"Pistachio growers, potential future growers, land leasers, appraisers and loan officers benefit from detailed and current information included in the studies,” said Craig Kallsen, UCCE citrus and pistachio farm advisor for Kern County.
Gibbons said, “Setton Pistachio refers potential growers to this information as they determine if they want to plant pistachios. Setton Pistachio appreciates this information if it is current. If it is too old, it is not reliable, and there is no other good source for unbiased pistachio development information.”
For a grower, deciding not to plant pistachios based on information in the cost study can be just as economically valuable as deciding to plant pistachios based on the cost study, said Kallsen.
“The information in the cost study can prevent a grower from making a million-dollar mistake by planting a crop that is not suitable for their soil, water availability or for an economic reason not related to crop environment/adaption suitability such as length of time to first harvest or high cost of establishment,” he said.
Reliable estimated costs for a crop grown mostly in California may be hard to find from a source other than UC. This study was co-authored by 17 UCCE farm advisors and specialists and a pomology professor at California State University, Fresno, with input from growers.
“This study summarizes the knowledge learned and used to build California's pistachio industry from 40,000 acres in the 1970s to over 400,000 acres and a 1.1-billion-pound crop in 2020,” Ferguson said.
The new study, “Sample Costs to Establish and Produce Pistachios, Low-Volume Irrigation, San Joaquin Valley South - 2020” can be downloaded for free from the UC Davis Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics website http://coststudies.ucdavis.edu. Sample cost of production studies for many other commodities are also available on the website.
“UC cost studies are always something I alert potential growers to when they are considering whether to plant an orchard,” said Phoebe Gordon, UC Cooperative Extension orchard crops advisor for Madera and Merced counties. “New growers have expressed to me a few times that they find the cost study useful.”
For an explanation of calculations used in the study, refer to the section titled Assumptions. For more information contact Donald Stewart, University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources, Agricultural Issues Center, Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, at (530) 752-4651 or destewart@ucdavis.edu. To discuss this study with a local UC Cooperative Extension advisor, find the UC Cooperative Extension office in your county at https://ucanr.edu/About/Locations.
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
Outsized wildfires, rising sea levels and disappearing glaciers are dramatic signs of climate change, but not the only ones. New UC Agriculture and Natural Resources research provides forewarning of a change that will be economically and environmentally costly to California – a fifth generation of navel orangeworm, the most destructive pest of almonds, walnuts and pistachios.
Navel orangeworm (NOW) will be more problematic in the future because of warming temperatures, UC Cooperative Extension scientists report in Science of the Total Environment.
Like most insects,NOW's development rate, physiology, behavior and reproduction are highly dependent on the ambient temperature. When the weather warms in the spring, NOW moths emerge from the nuts left in the tree or on the ground during the winter. After mating, females then recycle those last year's nuts to lay eggs and complete one generation. Adults emerged from that first and subsequent generations then lay eggs on in-season hull-splitalmondnuts, where larvae feeding damages the crop. Typically the pests fly three to four times per year – with more flights in areas with warmer weather.
“Warmer temperatures can result in early activity of the pests in the spring and increased activity during the season,” said Tapan Pathak, the UC Cooperative Extension climate change specialist and the study's principle investigator.
The scientists looked at 10 climate models to determine what nut farmers can expect to face over the next 80 years and applied NOW developmental models to the changing climate. Daily maximum and minimum temperature data were obtained for 1950 to 2005, and future projections stretched to 2100.
“The fifth generation can happen in the next few decades,” said Jhalendra Rijal, UC integrated pest management advisor and co-author of the research. “The climate models suggest that spring will begin earlier. That causes insect activity to start earlier. With increased temperatures through the season, the number of days to complete a generation is less. At the end of 2050 or so, we'll see an extra generation.”
The study focused on 23 counties in the Central Valley, from Shasta County in the north to Kern County in the south, where 1.78 million bearing acres of nut crops are planted. About two-thirds of that acreage is planted to almonds, 20% in walnuts and 16% in pistachios. The tree nut crops were valued at more than $8 billion combined in 2018, according to the California Department of Food and Agriculture.
The completion of the NOW life cycle is faster in pistachio compared to almonds and walnuts, so the potential risk of crop damage and economic loss is higher in pistachio, according to the research report. There are only a few years historically in which the models detected the fifth generation of NOW in Kern County pistachios. The occurrence of the fifth generation in almonds and walnuts was historically nonexistent, but it starts appearing in three southern counties by 2040 and eleven counties by 2100.
“In order to alleviate some of the risks related to navel orangeworm damage to nut crops, it is important to implement integrated pest management practices,” Pathak said.
IPM preventative and control measures include sanitizing the orchard during the winter by removing all the nuts on the ground and in the trees, applying synthetic reproductive hormones to limit the pests' ability to find mates, encouraging natural enemies, judicious of least-toxic pesticides if necessary and harvesting the crop early to avoid a new generation of the pest.
“A better understanding of future navel orangeworm pressure on California's major nut crops can help facilitate and strategize integrated pest management practices in order to minimize production risks,” Pathak said.
The results of the research can also inform growers and pest control advisers about the potential increased threat from other pests as the climate changes.