Almond growers pledge to cut harvest dust in half ByDennis Pollock
using low-dust equipment at pickup. Researchers arealso lookingat off-ground harvestingandat self-compatiblevarieties, which require fewer passes. Roseman said 75% of dust comes from the harvester during pickup. Jason Bayer, a sales representative with Exact Corp., said tips for keeping dust low includemaintaininga cleanorchard floor, planning sweeper and harvester routes,
whichcanresult insending fewer trucks to thesheller andresuming irrigationsooner. He said using a low-dust conditioner and getting more even moisture content can speed harvest. Bayer said pickup heads on harvesters also shouldbe adjusted for each field, and ground speed and fan speed should be monitored according to field conditions. Exhaust from the harvester fan should be
ConservationService, said financial assis- tance is available through low-dust incen- tive programs. NRCSfinancialandtechnicalassistanceis providedthroughtheEnvironmentalQuality Incentive Program and the Conservation StewardshipProgram. Theprograms cover replacement of die- sel-powered equipment, including pump engines and tractors, and offer payments to treat unpaved roads and surface areas with lignin derivatives, road oils or poly- mer emulsions. Low-dust harvesters include machin- ery fromthe Exact Corp., Flory Industries, Jackrabbit andWeiss-McNair. EQIPalsooffers assistance for pest con- trol applications as well as payment for chipping and orchard removal andwhole orchard recycling on a per-acre basis. Ashley Correia, field and outreach spe- cialistwiththeAlmondBoardofCalifornia, alsocitedonlineresourcesonanairquality module related to harvest dust practices put forth through the California Almond Sustainability Program. She reiterated the board’s 2025 goals: further reducing the water used to grow almonds, achieving zerowaste in almond orchards, increasing adoption of environ- mentally friendly pest management tools and improving local air quality during al- mond harvest. (Denni s Pol lock i s a repor t er in F r e s no . He ma y b e c on t a c t e d a t agcompollock@yahoo.com.)
Specialists with the Almond Board of California are working with growers in the perennial quest to tampdownondust during almond harvest. With exceptional drought conditions across much of California, there is little moisture left in the soil to aid in reducing dust, saidJesseRoseman, principal analyst for environmental and regulatory affairs with the AlmondBoard. Yet the vast California almond sector is challenging itself tocut theamount of dust in half. That’s because almond growers wrestle with concerns over potential dust impacts on those who live, play and drive byorchardswhereharvesting isunderway. “Wewant todoeverythingwecantodeal with dust, which can be a health concern and also a safety concern,” Roseman said. He said what can be seen in airborne dust is not actually regulated particles: PM10 and PM2.5. Of the two, humans can much better filter out PM10 parti- cles. PM2.5 particles are more danger- ous, posing greater risks to enter lungs and bloodstreams. Besides guarding against health risks, Roseman said, there are economic and pest control advantages to keeping dust down at harvest. One way to reduce dust is to reduce the number of almond harvester passes and pickup speed. There has also been research on lowering fan speeds, set- ting sweeper height appropriately and
“We want to do everything we can to deal with dust, which can be a health concern and also a safety concern.” —Jesse Roseman Almond Board of California
blown into the shaken row of trees and a twin rod chain system should be used for better dirt removal, he said. Lucas Avi la, area manager wi th FarmlandManagement Services, said us- ing a conditioner to send cleaner product to a huller can increase profitability while maintaining harvest speed. “It gives you flexibilitywithharvest tim- ing,” Avila said, adding some trees can be shakenwhilenutsaregreen. Theyare then spread out and dried, and Avila said con- ditioning can enablemore efficient use of labor when it is available. Ted Strauss, air quality resource con- servationist with the U.S. Department of Agr i cul ture Natura l Resources
and avoiding blowing towards roadways and buildings. “Try to blow one way through the or- chardwiththesweeper,”Bayer said. “We’re of course surrounded by a lot of watching eyes, so we need to do the best we can do to blow into the natural filter of the trees.” He said the sweeper headheight should be adjusted as needed for each field. Dual gauge wheels should also be used on sweeper heads for improved flotation. Bayer also said rubber fingers behindwire tines—he calls them“chickenpluckers”— can reduce dirt input. He said it’s best to avoid extra sweeping passes. Bayer cited benefits from conditioning that include removing sticks and debris,
CALIFORNIA IRRIGATION MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM CIMIS REPORT | www.cimis.water.ca.gov
For the week August 12 - August 18, 2021 ETO (INCHES/WEEK)
YEAR
3.0
THIS YEAR
2.5
LAST YEAR AVERAGE YEAR
2.0
1.5
1.0
0.5
0.0
MACDOEL II (236)
BIGGS (244)
DAVIS (06)
MANTECA (70)
FRESNO (80)
SALINAS-SOUTH (214)
FIVE POINTS (2)
SHAFTER (5)
TEMECULA (62)
IMPERIAL (87)
THIS YEAR LAST YEAR AVG. YEAR % FROM AVG.
1.39 1.41 1.54 -11
1.46 1.40 1.53 -5
1.86 1.81 1.86 0
2.04 1.84 1.69 21
1.65 1.69 1.60 2
1.55 1.70 1.68 -7
1.87 1.71 1.79 5
1.28 1.33 1.26 3
1.14 1.29 1.46 -21
1.80 1.94 1.94 -8
W eekly reference evapotranspiration (ETo) is the rate of water use (evapotranspiration—the sum of soil evaporation and crop transpiration) for healthy pasture grass. Multiplying ETo by the appropriate “crop coefficient” gives estimates of the ET for other crops. For example, assume ETo on June 15 is 0.267 inches and the crop coefficient for corn on that day is 1.1. Multiplying ETo by the coefficient (0.26 inches x 1.1) results in a corn ET of 0.29 inches. This
information is useful in determining the amount and timing of irriga- tion water. Contact Richard Snyder, UC Davis, for information on coefficients, 530-752-4628. The 10 graphs provide weekly ETo rates for selected areas for average year, last year and this year. The ETo information is provided by the California Irrigation Management Information System (CIMIS) of the California Department of Water Resources.
For information contact the DWR district office or DWR state headquarters:
SACRAMENTO HEADQUARTERS: 916-651-9679 • 916-651-7218
NORTHERN REGION: Red Bluff 530-529-7301
NORTH CENTRAL REGION: West Sacramento 916-376-9630
SOUTH CENTRAL REGION:
SOUTHERN REGION:
Fresno 559-230-3334
Glendale 818-500-1645 x247 or x243
16 Ag Alert August 25, 2021
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