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in almonds last year. Pistachio growers are trying to navigate orchard cleanup. The sequence that typi- cally works best is pruning and shredding limbs, sanitizing trees, and sweeping, disking and mowing. Rain and fog definitely help loosen the mummies. The problem is rain and wind have been slow to materialize, so loosening the mummies naturally may not happen right away. At this point in 2024, seasonal rainfall is well be- low normal. If the weather turns bad, some opportunities for removal could be missed. With NOW levels so high in the 2023 season, growers need to be diligent with orchard sanitation to get the mummies out of the orchard. If growers don’t clean up, there could be a repeat of 2023, and that would be bad news.
Pistachios had an “on” year in 2023, meaning a big crop. Usually, this means there are a lot of leftover mummies in the orchards. It is easier to remove pistachios from the trees compared to almonds. Typically, they’re in clusters and come off easily. It’s the mummies on the ground that are the big problem. If the ground isn’t level and smooth, the mummies get stuck in every gopher hole and squirrel (nut) pile, and behind trees and irrigation lines. There were high navel orangeworm counts at the tail end of the second shake. Some growers saw 5% to 6% NOW in their second shakes. It was also a warm fall with temperatures in the 70s, so growers can expect mummies to be infested, which could lead to a big NOW population in 2024. No one wants to see the same damage in pistachios that was
PEST CONTROL ADVISOR
What are the risks of mummies left in pistachio orchards?
Justin Nay Integral Ag Services, Durham
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January 10, 2024 Ag Alert 9
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