Backyard Orchard News
Professional photographer captures Kearney
Freelance photographer Elena Zhukova was at the UC Kearney Agricultural Research and Extension Center March 8 as part of a photo shoot involving all the UC campuses. To browse the professional photos Zhukova shot at other UC locations, visit the UC Office of the President gallery website. Below are snap shots of Zhukova at work at Kearney.
Tom Buzo in the lath house with walnut clones.
Kearney says good-bye to Felicitas Santos
Felicitas "Lita" Santos is marking her last day at the Kearney Agricultural Research and Extension Center March 8. Santos worked at Kearney for 25 years, much of that time staffing the receptionist's desk in the main academic building. With her cheerful demeanor and vast knowledge of the institution, she has come to be known as "The Face of Kearney."
Fungicides for disease control and resistance management.
As I write this, early bloom is just beginning to show in some prune blocks in the Yuba City area. Even though it has been a relatively dry winter, there is rain predicted starting this weekend (Mar 10-11) or early next week, so growers should prepare to protect their crop from disease at bloom -- especially brown rot.
When crop stage and weather indicate there is a need to protect a crop, make sure to rotate between different pesticide classes to reduce the risk of fungicide resistance developing in a disease population in your orchard. Using different FRAC (Fungicide Resistance Action Committee) group pesticides -- pesticides that use different modes of actio on disease organisims -- is the best way to manage fungicide resistance in your orchard. See the tables below for details on timing, relative resistance risk, and efficacy of many pesticides registered for prunes. The FRAC group or groups in a particular fungicide product are listed on the first page of the label.
In wet bloom weather, UC recommends a two spray program for blossom brown rot control -- once at green bud and once at full bloom. The full bloom spray is the most important, although the green bud spray should be included as well. At full bloom, include a captan or chlorothanil (Bravo, etc.) material for russet scab control. As stated above, alternate between FRAC classes with each application. For example, for blossom brown rot control, you could use Vangard (FRAC Group 9) at green bud and Tilt/Bumper (FRAC Group 3) at full bloom. In a wet year at full bloom, combining two fungicides in the tank -- one for brown rot and one for scab management (for example, Tilt + captan) -- is the best approach. Captan and chorothanil are effective for scab control, but only mediocre brown rot materials.
In a dry bloom season, research by Dr. Jim Adaskaveg, UC Professor of Plant Pathology at UC Riverside, has shown that effective brown rot control can be acheived with a single bloom spray at 50-70% bloom. This year is not shaping up to be a dry bloom. Hopefully that will help with fruit set!
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Table 1. Examples of general effective timing, resistance risk, relative efficacy, and target diseases of different FRAC group fungicides (alone or as mixtures) available to prune growers in California at the beginning of bloom, 2012. Low, medium, and high resistance risk groups are listed under “Low RR”, “Med RR”, and “High RR”, respectively. Stars after each mixture indicate relative efficacy of the product(s) – limited and erratic (*),moderate and variable (**), good and reliable (***), and excellent and consistent (****). See Table 2 for product names to match with FRAC numbers listed here. Consult with your PCA for specific fungicide application rates and timing(s) for disease control in your orchard. The information in this table is drawn from Efficacy and Timing of Fungicides, Bactericides and Biologicals for Deciduous Tree Fruit, Nut, Strawberry and Vine Crops, 2011.
Disease |
Green bud |
White bud |
Full bloom |
May |
June |
July |
Brown rot |
Low RR 2(+oil)**** Med RR 3/9**** High RR 3**** |
Low RR 2(+oil)**** Med RR 3/9**** High RR 3**** |
Low RR 2(+oil)**** Med RR 3/9**** High RR 3**** |
|
Med RR 3/11**** High RR 3****
|
Med RR 3/11**** High RR 3****
|
Lacy scab |
|
|
M4*** |
|
|
|
Rust |
|
|
|
Low RR M2** Med RR 3/9*** 3*** |
Low RR M2** Med RR 3/9*** 3*** |
Low RR M2** Med RR 3/9*** 3*** |
Table 2. Examples of FRAC groups (2, 2, 9, etc.) and FRAC group combinations (3/9, 3/11, etc.) available to prune growers in California at bloom, 2012. Always read the label before applying pesticides. Consult with your PCA regarding spray timing, rates, etc. Not all generic products available in the market are listed in this table.
2 |
3 |
3/9 |
3/11 |
7/11 |
9 |
11 |
17 |
M2 |
M4 |
M5 |
Rovral |
Tilt/Bumper |
Inspire Super |
Adament |
Pristine |
Scala |
Gem |
Elevate |
Sulfur |
captan |
chlorothanil |
|
Elite/Tebuzol |
|
Quadris Top |
|
Vangard |
Abound |
|
|
|
|
|
Indar |
|
Quilt Xcel |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Quash |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
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The best single source for information on disease management tool efficacy and timing in California deciduous tree and vine crops is Efficacy and Timing of Fungicides, Bactericides and Biologicals for Deciduous Tree Fruit, Nut, Strawberry and Vine Crops, 2011 written by UC researchers/advisors J. Adaskaveg, D. Gubler, T. Michailides, and B. Holtz. Please follow the hyperlink in the title above to view this excellent, free document.
BloomFungcides.2012
How Pamela Marrone Does It
With the global population growing from 7 to 10 billion by 2050, there is an intense debate about...
Pamela Marrone is an international expert in agricultural biotechnology and bioscience.
In memoriam: F. Gordon Mitchell
Namesake of the UC Kearney Agricultural Research and Extension Center’s postharvest center, F. Gordon Mitchell, died in February. He was 88.
Mr. Mitchell began his distinguished career with the University of California Cooperative Extension immediately following graduation from college in 1949. He was the viticulture advisor in San Joaquin County for eight years before taking a position as statewide pomology specialist at UC Davis in 1957.
During his career, Mr. Mitchell’s work resulted in an industry-wide change to rapid cooling methods, the improvement in fruit packing efficiency, and greater understanding among farmers about the requirements of produce during the postharvest time period. He worked primarily on plums, peaches, nectarines, cherries, pears, strawberries, applies and kiwifruit, however, during his 42-year career conducted research on virtually all pomological commodities.
Mr. Mitchell retired in 1991. When Dinuba farmer/packer LeRoy Giannini contributed funds to build the new postharvest laboratory at Kearney, he suggested naming the building after Mr. Mitchell. On Feb. 8, 1993, the facility was christened the F. Gordon Mitchell Postharvest center.
Emeritus UC Cooperative Extension specialist Jim Thompson of the UC Davis Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering said Mr. Mitchell worked tirelessly with the California agriculture industry to improve the market for the state’s fresh fruits and tree nuts.
“He developed the early concepts and standards for handling California Granny Smith and Fuji apples, kiwifruit, and pistachio nuts,” Thompson said. “When the tree fruit industry had questions about postharvest issues, their first phone call was to Gordon."
UC Cooperative Extension postharvest horticulturist Mary Lu Arpaia, who is based at the UC Kearney Agricultural Research and Extension Center, counts Mr. Mitchell as a mentor and guidepost for her career.
“Sometimes the best things in life that happen to you are unplanned,” Arpaia said about taking a job in the UC Davis postharvest lab when she was a graduate student. “That job was with Gordon and that was serendipity. When I think back on that one event I know it was one of the most important events in my graduate career and subsequent adventures in life.”
Arpaia said Mr. Mitchell’s work with his colleagues with forced air cooling and packaging established him to be a leader, “albeit a soft spoken one,” in the field of postharvest handling.
Mr. Mitchell was a Davis resident for 55 years. The family obituary described him as a gentle and devoted soul who took great pride in his faith, family and career. Mr. Mitchell is survived by his sister, two sons, a daughter and six grandchildren.
Gordon Mitchell (left) with post harvest scientist Carlos Crisosto in front of the F. Gordon Mitchell Postharvest Center at Kearney.