West Coast Nut September 2019

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Continued from Page 39 of a low-salt starter fertilizer with phosphorus and zinc. Depending on tissue-test results, all of Ryan’s trees—both nonbearing and those in production—will get a shot of Levitate.“It’s good for structure growth and nuts as well,” Ryan said. “I get pretty good growth throughout the season.” Sawdust or Compost Sawdust or compost around trees is helpful in reserving moisture and giving a slow-release feed, but Ryan cautions growers to be careful with compost over the top of drip lines. “Roots can grow over the lines and create a real mess.” Ryan plans to hire a crop consultant and do pressure bomb tissue tests. A pressure bomb is a portable instrument. It uses pressurized gas to squeeze the moisture from a leaf out the stem. The amount of pressure needed is used to measure the water potential of plant tissue. Nutrition and Fertigation Trials Joe Cacka, Hazelnut Research Agronomist with Nutrien Ag Solutions Northwest Division said, “The first growers that put potassium chloride at high rates in the spring, instead of fall defoliated the trees. Took two years to grow out of it. They gave up on it.” Joe is currently conducting nutrition and fertigation trials in one of Glaser’s’ younger orchards. He’s laid down a band of fertilizer for three years in a row to get the potassium levels up in the trees. His trials show that 500 pounds of potassium chloride per acre produces a higher yield—400 more pounds of nuts per acre. Growers have to figure out for themselves if the higher yields balance out the higher fertilizer costs, while still being careful not to get carried away with too much fertilizer. When Joe applied potassium chloride with an extra heavy hand—one ton per acre—the levels built up by about tenfold. Soils will dry out by the end of June or mid-July, meaning that without irrigation, the least amount of nutrients are available during the nut-filling period, when the trees really need it. Alternate Bearing and Nutrition Hazelnut growers have historically seen alternate bearing years: One year of heavy nut production, followed by a year of lighter crop load. Joe posed the question: “How much does nutrition play a part in that?” Heat stress also affects crop production for the next year. Joe suggests taking a good look at nutrition needs in the fall, especially after a heavy crop. “If the tree isn’t getting enough nutrients from the soil, it will pull it from the bark and roots. I think we can modify it (nutrition), so there isn’t as big a drop from one year to the next.” A foliar application of calcium, magnesium, boron and zinc “equates to a 20-40 percent yield response in a given season,” Joe said. “Nutrition plays a part in all aspects of growth, including if new nodes become new growth, or bearing branches. Nutrients going into new growth are different than nutrients going into nuts.” Joe sums it up by saying nutrition needs “really need to be customized to your operation.” He urges growers to take tissue and soil samples and have them lab tested to find out exactly what their needs might be. Joe also notes that although nutrients need to be pushed down to the tree-root zone, “You don’t want to push down too deep, since eighty-five percent of roots are in the top two-feet of soil.” He added that the sweet spot for nutrients is in the top 1-2 ½-foot zone. Potassium “It’s really important to have good levels of potassium in trees,” Joe said. Potassium levels in leaves often don’t increase until the year after application. Potassium deficient orchards tend to have early leaf fall, which creates more debris in the tote bins. To counter this, growers can use sulfate of potash or potassium chloride—the latter is cheaper. “Apply potassium in the fall for the least cost. In spring it can damage,” Joe reminds growers. Joe suggests putting a fertilizer band down one side of the trees one year and switching sides the following year. Flail chopping pruned branches, leaves and husks back into the soil will create a slow-release fertilizer as the organic matter decays. What does all this information tell hazelnut growers? In a nutshell, that there is always still more to learn. Comments about this article? We want to hear from you. Feel free to email us at article@jcsmarketinginc.com 40 West Coast Nut September 2019
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Page 1 and 2: WEST COAST NUT SEPTEMBER 2019 ISSUE
Page 3 and 4: By the Industry, For the Industry P
Page 5 and 6: differences between annually pruned
Page 8 and 9: Continued from Page 6 hand, was sim
Page 10 and 11: Pistachio Prices Hinge on Export Ex
Page 12 and 13: Continued from Page 10 production.
Page 14 and 15: Figure 4. Baseline U.S. Pistachio R
Page 16 and 17: Figure 2. Flowering branch of Keste
Page 18 and 19: Continued from Page 17 begins appro
Page 20 and 21: MYCORRHIZAL FUNGI HAVE BENEFITS IN
Page 22 and 23: Minimal interplay with soil ecosyst
Page 24 and 25: 38 Year UCCE Farm Advisor Janine Ha
Page 26 and 27: Continued from Page 24 in that area
Page 28 and 29: The Full Menu of Workshops and Semi
Page 30: EMERGENCY WILDFIRE SMOKE REGULATION
Page 33 and 34: It is important to remember that wh
Page 35 and 36: Navel Orangeworm Control! Mating di
Page 37 and 38: NON-GMO 100% Water Soluble 80%+ Ami
Page 39: Telly Wirth measures the whip of a
Page 43 and 44: Thursday September 26 1:00PM Regist
Page 45 and 46: North Valley Nut Conference see pag
Page 47 and 48: California Walnut Conference see pa
Page 49 and 50: GET YOUR DUST UNDER CONTROL SERVICI
Page 51 and 52: + FOR POST-HARVEST APPLICATION TO C
Page 53 and 54: South Valley Nut & Citrus Conferenc
Page 55 and 56: September 2019 www.wcngg.com 55
Page 57 and 58: Almond sorter lines. a successful f
Page 59 and 60: WALNUT HULLING & DRYING EQUIPMENT
Page 61 and 62: Katherine Jarvis-Shean, UCCE orchar
Page 63 and 64: Autonomous sprayer making a spray a
Page 65 and 66: Crop Consultant Conference Septembe
Page 67 and 68: the need for fossil fuel based ener
Page 69 and 70: are vulnerable to crop loss or dama
Page 71 and 72: The best way to manage pathogens be
Page 73 and 74: Calcium Where you need it when you
Page 75 and 76: upset the balance of a stable and a
Page 77 and 78: "Our plant-based plans showcase pec
Page 79 and 80: November 20th, 2019 7:00 AM to 1:00
Page 81 and 82: TAC 2019 a Year of Lodging, Foodie
Page 83 and 84: Multi-Target Navel Orangeworm Monit

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