April 16, 1999
Submitted by: Nicole Darby
Sacramento Valley Field Scout
The Almond PMA Project in the Sacramento Valley is running well.
This is
our progress as of April 16, 1999.
PTB: None found in traps as of yet. Advisors believe the cold
weather may
be delaying flight, however, we expect first moth soon.
PTB Larvae Monitoring: Six trees in each block, 24 total, were
banded with
corrugated cardboard. We are to take down the cardboard at the
end of the
generation. Due to the weather, Carolyn Pickel has suggested we
wait
another week before taking them down. She suggested that even
with the
warmer weather it would be better to wait another week. New
cardboard will
be banded around the tree for the next generation.
SJS: First SJS found on 4/16/99. Most were found in the 12.5
acres of
'soft approach' and in the 5 acre OP dormant spray blocks.
SJS Parasite: Two parasites were found on traps. One in the
grower
standard and one in the 5 acre OP dormant spray.
Shoot Strikes: I began monitoring shoots on 3/31/99 and so far
have found
no damage. Joe Connell confirmed that there are no apparent shoot
strikes
as of 4/16/99 in any of the blocks.
Misc. Monitoring: While monitoring for pests listed above,
diseases such
as Shot Hole and Scab are noted. Whereas there are no monitoring
protocols
for these diseases their presence is noted and given directly to
the grower
and to Joe Connell. So far, there is some clustering of shot-hole
but the
trees own defenses appear to be keeping it in check, Joe Connell
thought
this minor outbreak is due to the last rains. We spotted one tree
with
scab. Overall, a very healthly, young orchard.
NOW: We have yet to place traps for NOW. Traps for NOW will be in
placed
when the corrugated cardboard is checked.