Hot Temperature and Fires Challenged Almond Grower

This year almond production season was tough, hot temperatures, and then the fires. Jason Chandler is an almond grower in Mercer County. He mentions this strange, production year.

“One of the most interesting things was it was super hot and we were really worried about the trees drying up. Because you have to dry them up during harvest,” Chandler said.

But it was earlier than they needed the trees to dry up. “So we were really nervous. It was 109 to 110, a couple of days, and the trees were really hurting. And then all of a sudden the fires started,” he said.

And there were many fires up and down the state of California, which created a lot of smoke in the Valley. “All of a sudden, the temperatures dropped to 89, and the trees really responded by being a lot healthier. They weren't hurting as much, and it was kind of crazy,” noted Chandler.

And that's all because the smoke shielded the sun, which allow the temperature to drop. “Basically the sun would barely come from 11am to 3pm,” he said.

And Jason said, you couldn't see more than a mile down the road.

A lot of people reported that the almond in the rows did not dry down well.

“Because after the nuts are shaken to the ground, and they stay there for about a week. They get conditioned and dry down a little bit . It was all slowed down because of the smoke shielding the sun,

In more news, for pistachio growers, be on the lookout for Botryosphaeria during the harvest season so that a strike cutting program can be initiated in the fall if necessary.