32 Almond Facts
JANUARY | FEBRUARY 2015
"There are three critical objectives in almond spraying: effcacy, effciency and
environment," stated Franz Niederholzer, UC Cooperative Extension farm advisor
in Colusa, Sutter and Yuba counties. Speaking to some 150 growers attending
a cultural seminar at
Blue Diamond Growers’
annual meeting in Sacramento,
Niederholzer emphasized attention to detail at every step in the process when using
spray materials to protect an almond crop.
Care taken before entering the orchard will improve a grower's odds of achieving
the desired protection of the crop while also protecting the honey bees essential to
setting a crop, he said.
"Step back and assess the job," he advised. "Plan your work carefully for maximum
effectiveness, bee survival and worker safety."
In terms of effectiveness, for example, he pointed out that a small amount of active
ingredient is added to a large quantity of water. To be effective it must be uniformly
dispersed in solution and applied in a manner that produces uniform coverage
throughout the tree canopy. This is no small feat. It requires close attention to detail.
Tank Mixing
Guidelines for what Niederholzer refers to as "tank health" or achieving maximum
effectiveness from a spray operation include:
• Start with a clean sprayer, inside and out, including tank, flters, pump and nozzles.
• Spray with clean water.
• Start mixing in the active ingredient
after the tank is 1/4 to 1/2 full
in order to get a
uniform mixture.
• Mix with the
agitator on.
• Follow the label directions, especially regarding steps in the mixing process and
compatibility of mixing partners.
Effective Pest
Management
and Bee Protection
• Use a jar test if unsure of the mix. You
are risking problems if you put too
many things or the wrong combination
in the tank.
• Spray as soon as possible after mixing.
Do not let a loaded tank sit.
• Clean the sprayer inside and out when
fnished spraying.
Simple, but very important, mixing-order
rules to follow are:
• Fix the water if it is alkaline, hard or
imperfect. Conditioners go in frst.
• Dry pesticides go in the tank next,
before other materials such as oil-
or water-based emulsions. This is
necessary to avoid clumping. The dries
must be uniformly dispersed in the
tank before other materials go in.
• Water-based pesticides go in next.
• Oil-based and water-based emulsions
(ECs) are next.
• Then fertilizers.
• And, fnally, adjuvants.
• Agitate thoroughly to get uniform
solution for best effect.
Jar test the solution for uniform mixing
when in doubt.
Applying the Material
Niederholzer noted that spraying
technology has not changed much since
1955 when air blast sprayers came on
the market, but orchards have, which
makes careful adjustments in spraying
practices essential.
For example, he explained, orchards
are much denser. There is less pruning,
which makes penetration much harder,
and the materials are much less forgiving.
Many of the pesticides now in use have
to be consumed by the pest, which means
the spray has to be delivered to the pest
where it is, making effective spraying
much more challenging.
Niederholzer advised spraying late in
the day or even at night. This offers
several important advantages, including
increased effcacy, less wind therefore
less drift, and there is less traffc on the
roads near orchards.
Seminar coordinator and field
supervisor Steve Rothenberg (left)
with speaker Franz Niederholzer.