- Author: Ben Faber
Registration is open now for the 2023 Principles of Fruit & Nut Tree Growth, Cropping, and Management Course. This course incorporates lecture, lab exercises, and field demonstrations to provide information on all aspects of basic plant biology and the relationship between plant biology and nuts and fruit orchard management.
Our course includes five days of instruction (March 13-March 17, 2023). Each day will have several hours of lectures with hands-on field demonstrations where applicable. The course is being offered for $1595.
An optional four day field trip will be held the following week (March 20-March 23, 2023) for an additional fee. This field trip will provide a view of fruit and nut breeding, growing, and processing facilities throughout the Sacramento and San Joaquin Valleys. The $1000 fee includes four days of activities and discussion.
Register for the Field Trip Here
A limited number of scholarships are available for new and small-acreage Californian fruit or nut growers. Apply here.
- Author: Mike Hsu
Serving Amador, Calaveras, El Dorado and Tuolumne counties, UC Cooperative Extension advisor Lynn Wunderlich was formally assigned to focus on viticulture and integrated pest management in the region. But her innate curiosity – as well as her dedication to meeting the wide-ranging needs of local communities – led her to develop expertise in a remarkable array of topics.
“That was both the challenge and the opportunity of being a foothill farm advisor – lots of small farms, lots of diverse agriculture, so I got to do some cool things,” said Wunderlich, who is set to retire on July 1. “To serve the needs of the clientele up here was very gratifying and interesting.”
Wunderlich earned her bachelor's degree in bacteriology and plant pathology from University of Wisconsin-Madison and her master's in plant protection and pest management from UC Davis. After several years as a UCCE staff research associate in Ventura and Monterey counties, Wunderlich began as a UCCE farm advisor in 2000 for El Dorado and Amador counties.
Although initially tasked with supporting tree fruit and specialty crop growers in topics such as researching alternative methods for managing codling moths, Wunderlich soon found herself studying organizational dynamics and bylaws to help the Placerville Fruit Growers Association cooperative transition to become a Limited Liability Company.
“It was really different than anything I'd been trained in before,” Wunderlich said.
That early experience set the tone for the rest of her career, as she continued to seek out – and share – knowledge across the expansive breadth of her work. In 2007, Wunderlich took on the viticulture role in Amador and El Dorado counties, where grape growers sought counsel on controlling a newly discovered pest.
“Every farm advisor has some quintessential moments of their career, and Gill's mealybug was one of mine,” Wunderlich recalled. “It's really unique; it's not found in very many places in California and it had never been described as a pest on wine grapes.”
In addition to developing effective management tactics for Gill's mealybug, Wunderlich worked with growers and the late Doug Gubler, UCCE specialist emeritus, to set up seven powdery mildew stations and rain gauges across the foothills. The stations filled a great need in the region by providing accessible, applicable pest and disease forecasting and precipitation data.
Crediting her colleagues' tutelage, Wunderlich also deepened her understanding of the diverse soils in the foothills and the latest research on evapotranspiration on wine grapes – all in the name of delivering the most current and useful information to growers.
When Christmas tree growers in the foothills found their white firs decimated by a phytophthora pathogen, Wunderlich helped them switch to Nordmann and Turkish firs, which were naturally resistant. She became one of only a few experts in the UC system on these conifers, and, in one of her last accomplishments as farm advisor, organized the International Christmas Tree Research and Extension Conference in California earlier this month.
Another late-career highlight for Wunderlich was developing training materials on the proper calibration and use of air blast sprayers. Alongside Franz Niederholzer, UCCE farm advisor for Sutter, Yuba and Colusa counties, and UC IPM colleagues Lisa Blecker, Petr Kosina and Cheryl Reynolds, Wunderlich developed, delivered and evaluated a curriculum that included both in-person classes and online components. Their efforts were recognized with an IPM Achievement Award from the California Department of Pesticide Regulation, and the online course continues to be used today.
“It's nice to be able to leave something like that behind; its principles are still valid, no matter what type of sprayer you're using,” said Wunderlich, citing it as one of her enduring legacies.
In retirement, Wunderlich plans to continue her lifelong learning and also spend more time with friends and family – especially on camping trips on the east side of the Sierra.
And, as for growers such as Chuck Mansfield, they hope Wunderlich will stay connected.
“While we are all very happy for Lynn, her presence will be sorely missed,” Mansfield said. “We hope Lynn remains a regular fixture and friend in our community.”
- Author: Ben Faber
And Cherry and Citrus both start with "C"
We know neither a lemon or an avocado is a cherry or an apple and a lemon is not an avocado, but fruit trees have lots of things in common: basic physiology. This distinguishes them from annual plants. Pruning, irrigation, fertility management - horticulture - share common principles in tree culture than are different from lettuce culture. Learn some of these big ideas in a focused two week educational extravaganza. Avocados aren't almonds, but you will learn how they are similar and learn how to be a better avocado grower. Become a pomologist!!!!
Principles of Fruit & Nut Tree Growth, Cropping
& Management
2020 Principles of Fruit & Nut Tree Growth, Cropping & Management
March 23 - April 2, 2020
University of California, Davis campus
Understanding the fundamentals of tree biology is essential in making sound orchard management and business decisions in the tree fruit and nut industry. However, access to educational courses on basic fruit and nut tree biology, and how it relates to agronomic practices, is limited. Our course incorporates lecture, lab exercises, and field demonstrations to provide information on all aspects of basic plant biology and the relationship between plant biology and nuts and fruit orchard management.
Our course includes nine full days of instruction. The first five days will be held at the UC Davis campus and include lecture, laboratory exercises, and field demonstrations.
The following week participants embark upon a field trip through fruit and nut tree growing regions of Northern and Central California. On March 30th, we head north from Davis toward Corning and come back to Davis in the evening. From March 31st to April 2nd, we head south in the California Central Valley, and stay in Selma, CA for two nights.
The price for the one week lecture/labs course that runs from March 23rd through March 27th is $1975, and includes course materials, small breakfast/coffee breaks and lunches and an evening graduation reception. Accommodation is not included during the first week of the course.
The price for the first and second week of the course is $2975. This option includes everything mentioned above, transportation during the field tours, one lunch, and an evening dinner. The remaining lunches and dinners are not included in the price. Participants are also responsible for their overnight stay in Davis on March 30th. Please make your own reservation at a local hotel of your choice.
Additionally, $215 is asked for the two nights field tour lodging (in Selma), for a total of $3190 for the two weeks. If you do not wish to stay at the hotel with the group, you are free to find your own lodging and not pay the $215. However, note that transport to and from different hotels or your home will not be provided.
More detailed information on location and schedule will be sent to registered participants closer to the beginning of the course.
Registration will be closed after February 1st, 2020.
Registration for the 2020 Principles Course
(Credit card payment)
Course Topics
- Tree growth, development & pruning
- Dormancy, chilling & rest breaking
- Flowering, pollination & fruit set
- Fruit development & thinning
- Tree water relations & irrigation
- Plant nutrition & fertilization
- Root growth & rootstocks
- Tree fruit pests and pathogens
- Harvesting
For course content questions, please contact the Fruit & Nut Research and Information Center staff at fruitsandnuts@ucdavis.edu.
Scholarship Opportunities
We are proposing scholarships for the class each year, which cover the cost of the first week of the course ($1975)
To be eligible for the 2020 Principles of Fruit & Nut Tree Growth, Cropping & Management Course Scholarship you must be:
- A Californian grower
- A new grower with fewer than 3 years experience with tree crops OR in the process of transitioning between crops
- On a small farm with fewer than 40 acres of tree crops
You must apply before November 1st, 2019.
We will review all applications received and notify applicants of our decision by November 30, 2019.
The scholarship does not cover fees not included in the course price, like accommodation and dinners. If you wish to attend the second week as well, you will be responsible for all fees for that week ($1215).
If you have any questions about the scholarship application please send an email to fruitsandnuts@ucdavis.edu
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- Author: Karen Norton
A recent article in the July-August Smithsonian magazine, “Cultivating Art” talks about early American fruit growers enlisting artists to make hand colored lithographs of their fruit. This was done to protect their new varieties of fruit. In 1848, several Eastern seed and nursery leaders initiated what became the first national organization of fruit growers, the American Pomological Society. In 1852, Charles Harvey gathered a series of prints to publish The Fruits of America, Vol. 1, because patent protection did not extend to living organisms. It wasn’t until 1930, that Congress passed the Plant patent Act. This act authorizes a patent to anyone who invented, discovered, or asexually reproduced a distinct and new variety of plant.