California Pistachios Face the Heat with Smart Solutions

California's pistachio industry has seen a boom in popularity in recent years, and some food experts predict that pistachios could become the next big seasonal flavor after pumpkin spice.

You heard it here. So where are we at with this year’s crop?

“We’re looking at the shells starting to harden, starting to get some size on the kernel inside depending on the variety and where you’re at. It’s not consistent across the board. During this period, we’re hitting our second sprays. Bugs are coming on. And we’re starting to put more insecticides out right now.”

Today we’re chatting again with James Schaeffer from Helena Agri-Enterprises who emphasizes that heat protection is a big deal in pistachios….

“We’re going to see consistent days of triple digits, so irrigation is very important when it comes to maintaining a healthy orchard during the summer. Managing any inefficiencies within your irrigation system can help mitigate some of this water stress in our crops. Tools like Resgenix from Helena can improve irrigation inefficiencies in both light and heavy soils because we do have different soil textures throughout the state. Making sure our applied water is actually getting into that root zone and then staying that root zone for an extended period of time is going to ensure that our orchards stay productive and continue to be in great shape through these summer months as we approach harvest.”

To learn more and find a rep near you, visit HelenaAgri.com