Fresno Bee reporter Robert Rodriguez opened a story in yesterday's paper about the impending drought with the thoughts of UC Davis pomologist Kenneth Shackel. According to Rodriguez' lead, Shackel is "feeling more like an emergency room doctor than an agricultural researcher."
"It's like triage," Shackel was quoted. "For some, this isn't about controlling diseases or yields, it's about survival."
Shackel was one of several UC experts whose imput was sought on the desperate efforts being planned by farmers to save water and keep their valuable permanent crops alive. Valley growers are already taking "drastic action to cope with the drought," the article said, such as bulldozing older trees, cutting off trees' canopies, and spraying chemicals that prevent fruit and nut development.
"I'm telling people that if you don't have enough water to set a crop, don't spend $150 a hive to pollinate your trees," the story quoted Brent Holtz, the Madera County UCCE farm advisor, Holtz is planning a meeting for March 31 where UC's resident deficit-irrigation expert, David Goldhamer, will speak. Goldhamer is currently working in Spain, so the reporter had Holtz explain the concept.
"What happens is that the trees will become stressed and not set much of a crop," Holtz was quoted. "But the trees stay alive."
Rodriguez spoke to Fresno County UCCE farm advisor Dan Munk about irrigating West Side crops with well water. Almond trees, unlike pistachio trees, do not tolerate high-salt, high-boron groundwater very well.
"And you could have some situations where the water is so bad that you may not want to irrigate your crop at all," Munk was quoted. "This is a tough situation."