Irrigation Initiation

What a difference a year makes! Last year, growers were well into the irrigation season by March 1st, while this year, we will need to be careful not to initiate irrigations too soon. Wet Spring conditions, particularly saturated soils, are conducive to early disease...

Early Season Nitrogen Strategies in a VERY Wet Year

Almond nitrogen needs are now in full swing, but with the extremely wet conditions, there is no need for irrigation, thus no ability for fertigation, which is the primary means of delivering nitrogen to the 1.3 million acres of almonds grown in California. Wet weather...

The Importance of Soil Temperatures

Monitoring soil moisture as we enter Spring is common, however, soil temperature can be easily overlooked. Why are Spring soil temperatures important to look at in the first place? Root growth is typically initiated once soil temperature reaches 45° or higher. Coming...

Seed-Placed Fertilizer & Seed Size Performance

Agronomists are always looking for ways to help growers place plant nutrients beneath the soil surface for maximum agronomic effectiveness. Applying fertilizer directly with the seed is one option, but there is a limit to how much fertilizer can be placed there. There...

Combatting Winter Weeds

Winter annual weeds have been actively growing throughout this mild winter. Mustards, Henbit, Downy Brome and Marestail are all lying in wait. Albeit slowly, they are growing and waiting for consistently warmer weather to “bolt” out of the rosette stage of life. If...