Horticulture News 

M. E. Garcia , Tree Fruits Specialist

Summer orchard visits report

This summer Lorraine and I have been able to visit  30 orchards.  We have tried to visit growers who requested a visit  and/or orchards that have not been visited in the past few years.  An overall horticultural assessment of the orchards indicate a good crop.  Crop load is slightly below average, but this was expected because many orchards had a bumper crop last year, the dry weather during flower initiation, and the poor pollination conditions during bloom.  Most growers are satisfied with the number of fruit on the trees regardless of the use of chemical thinners or not.  We have seen some tree decline and death (see IPM section of this newsletter) due disease and to the stressful conditions the tree have since last year.  Due to away meetings and vacations, we will not be making orchard visits again until mid- August.