Almond PMA Update – Butte County
January 2001
The Almond PMA is fortunate to work with proactive growers. For a third consecutive year, the Almond PMA will continue to implement reduced risk practices in the same orchard. The information gathered here is invaluable and will give insight in reduced risk practices.
The Almond PMA in Butte County remains in Durham. We have altered the scheme by adding in an unsprayed control treatment. This is the only change. The other four treatments continue to be the grower standard, the PMA soft treatment, the organophospahte dormant treatment and the organophosphate dormant and hullsplit treatment.
Dormant spur sampling occurred in December. As before, 100 dormant spurs were collected from the original four treatments. The results were:
Mites |
San Jose Scale |
European Fruit Lecanium |
San Jose Scale Parasite |
PTB |
|
GS |
4 |
5 |
10 |
2 |
0 |
PMA |
2 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Dormant Spray |
3 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Dorm/HS Spray |
7 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Trees were assessed for mummies on January 18, 2001. Twenty trees in each of the original four treatments were inspected for any mummies. The results are listed as the mummy per tree.
Grower Standard |
PMA |
Dormant |
Dormant + Hullsplit |
1.3 |
0.9 |
.45 |
0.7 |
The grower standard, in particular, is higher than the University of California Cooperative Extension protocols. However, with rains and winds approaching, the mummies will fall without manually taking them down.
The trapping season will begin in full swing in middle March. Traps and lures have been ordered and received. We look forward to gaining more insight into reduced risk practices. This third year is especially useful since statistics may now be applied.