NOW Mummy Shaking Planning

NOW Mummy Shaking Planning

Patrick Cavanaugh
Patrick Cavanaugh
Franz Neiderholzer is a UCANR Orchard System Farm Advisor based in Colusa County and he also helps growers in Sutter and Yuba counties

“Because the winter mommy shake to remove nuts, get them on the orchard floor and then sweep them, is so important, oftentimes growers will wait for rainfall and fog to moisten up, to wet up the mommies and make it easier to shake off,” said Neiderholzer.

Or there is a concern about waiting later to shake, especially when the buds start to swell for the 2021 crop. The big concerns when you're doing mummy shaking, will you, in fact, shake off the buds?

“Research has shown that you are safe to shake up to January 31st. And even if you went past that day in a normal year, in some years I've seen full bloom on February 10th,” noted Neiderholzer. “So you wouldn't want to be shaking for mummy removal on February 7th or 8th, but in years where bloom was the third week of February or the middle of February, you can shake, and be successful, and still have good crop,” he said.

In more treenut news, researchers say that almond growers can start pruning mature trees, right after harvest. You don't have to wait until the trees are dormant. In fact, pruning when orchards are dry and pruning wounds can heal without moisture from rainfall reduces the chance of fungal infections. And here's a tip pruning should obviously be performed to allow for mechanical orchard practices.

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