example, a grower has had a history of high Jacket Rot infection, that grower can look at this chart and know they need protection at the Full Bloom timing. Now that we know when to target a specific disease, how do we know which product to use ? The UC Agriculture and Natural Resources IPM website has a great chart for this. (See the bottom of this article for the address.) The Almond Fungicide Efficacy Chart lists multiple products and the FRAC group associated with that fungicide. FRAC stands for “Fungicide Resistance Action Committee” and it is a set of numbers and letters used to distinguish fungicides based on their mode of action. In order to prevent resistance to these fungicides, growers need to rotate FRAC groups to prevent developing resistant diseases. For example, if a grower’s first bloom spray contains a FRAC Group 3 fungicide, the second bloom spray application should not. The second should contain a different mode of action like a FRAC Group 7/11. Rotating FRAC groups keeps more “tools” in a grower’s “toolbox,” and growers have enough tools removed by external forces so they do not need to remove their own. Bees and Pollination Pollination may be the single most critical step in the year for a successful almond crop. That success is highly dependent
Bee Bucket
on the bees that are in your orchard. There are a few factors that can effect the success of your almond pollination. First is the number of frames in your hives. A single, eight frame hive will collect 2.5 times more pollen than a four frame hive. The contract with your beekeeper should state the strength of the hives so you know what you should be receiving. Second is hive placement. You should avoid placing hives in high traffic areas, shade or in a concentrated area. Place hives
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