Applying Rest-Enhancement Foliar Treatments to Dormant Pistachios

Applying Rest-Enhancement Foliar Treatments to Dormant Pistachios

Patrick Cavanaugh
Patrick Cavanaugh
Applying rest-enhancement foliar treatments to dormant pistachios.

Bob Beede is a UCANR Emeritus Farm Advisor, Kings County now working as a private consultant pistachio and walnut growers is researching using two different compounds.

“The research has been conducted on both the kaolin clay product known as Surround, as well as the calcium carbonate, which is marketed under several names, one being Diffusion,” said Beede.

He said these products have different modes of action when it comes to lowering but temperatures and he said it's questionable whether they're actually effective or not.

“Am I saying that they don't work? No, I don't have the data to say that, but I certainly would suggest to growers that if the weather pattern turns warm as we move into January, that if I were a pistachio grower, I'd certainly at least try one of the arrests enhancers and leave an untreated section of the orchard,” said Beede. The control is to determine whether or not the application did me any good because each application runs around 75 to $80 with material and custom spray applications,

Beede said more research is needed to determine the efficacy of the products.

“We at the university do not yet have a long-term replicated trial to be able to claim that they meet the 95% confidence criteria,” said Beede.

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