Gophers, Squirrels and Rabbits? Oh, my!!

So, I was taking a course on orchard management. One important aspect of it was "vertebrate pest management." 

Orchards provide food and shelter for small animals that can cause significant damage:

• Squirrels feed on fruit and on tree bark and shoots, which can stunt growth or even kill trees. 
• Rabbits will chew on flexible irrigation lines and emitters. 
• Gophers will dig holes through the soil surface, thereby channeling surface irrigation water to undesired areas. 
• Food safety also becomes an issue if pest residues come into contact with the fruit. 

The major vertebrate pests apparently are pocket gophers, California ground squirrel, and black-tailed jackrabbit. 

Management programs for vertebrate pests involve 4 basic steps:

1. Correctly identify the pest species using damage signs, burrows or habitat, tracks, feces, etc.
2. Modify the habitat to make the area less favorable to the pest species.
3. Implement appropriate control. Includes baiting, fencing, shooting or trapping.  Use due consideration for the environment and non-target species.
4. Establish a monitoring system so as to detect re-infestation.

It is much easier to manage vertebrate pests by implementing controls on the orchard's perimeter versus inside the orchard.

I am so glad we have a strong fence around our ranch. I really hope we don't have to deal with these small creatures.

blacktailed jackrabbit:

pocket gopher:

Pre-harvest pooja (prayer)!

Peach harvest!

More than 90% of the US cling-stone peach production and 70% of the freestone peach production occur in California. Our ranch is all cling-stone peaches. Freestone peaches are grown primarily for fresh market and cling peaches mainly for canning.

The last pic you see are nectarines. The previous ranch owner grew a small patch containing various kinds of stone fruit trees for fun, I guess. This tree is one of them.
 

Pleasant surprise at peach orchard!

Who knew? Perhaps because of winter, I didn't notice that the ranch's previous owner was growing vines as a privacy hedge(?) behind the mobile house. Well, we could always use organic table grapes, right?

How to correctly deliver the exact specified dose of pesticide spray per acre?

When applying pesticide sprays, we need to carefully calibrate the tractor mounted sprayer to deliver the exact amount of liquid per minute to ensure proper spray coverage. Typically, you can adjust the sprayer to deliver a required volume of liquid per minute. We use the following formula to calculate the outflow amount (in GPM gallons per minute) of nozzle bank (manifold) to achieve desired gallons of spray per acre (gpa).

GPM = (GPA x MPH x Row Spacing) / 1000

Example:

Row Spacing (trunk to trunk distance) = 22 feet

Gallons of spray per acre (GPA)          = 100 [as recommended by pest control adviser]
Desired ground speed (MPH)               = 2 mph

Let's calculate GPM = (100 x 2 x 22) / 1000 = 4.4

So this means, we need to set the nozzle to deliver 4.4 gallons per minute from one side to achieve 100 gpa at 2mph speed as required.

June sprays 3: MICRO SULFUR for Mildew control

MICRO SULFUR controls that white powdery fungus you occasionally see on leaves -- Preventative, I think! I am not sure, but mildew can appear on fruit as well.

Still learning.. But I am surprised how many sprays we have to do in preparation for harvest season. Perhaps one day, we ll convert to organic or farm something else.

June sprays 2: APOLLO for Mite Control

It doesn't hurt to repeat it. No matter what spray we use on our orchards, it is HIGHLY imperative that they do not harm bees or natural enemy populations of target organism.

APOLLO acts by inhibiting of the respiratory system development in the mites eggs, preventing hatching and thus further mite infestation of crops. 

APOLLO is highly selective not detrimental to bees as well as beneficial insects and predatory mites like Black Ladybird Beetle (cool name for a bug, right?).

Here are spider mites on peach leaves.

June sprays 1: ALTACOR for Peach Twig Borer (PTB)

This is one of the sprays Gary and Elsa suggested we apply to Peach trees.

In spring, PTB larvae bore into buds and developing shoots causing them to wilt and die. Larvae of the summer generations attack the fruit, usually making several entry holes near the stem end. Damaged fruit and twigs exude gum. See the pictures below.

So, meet ALTACOR.

ALTACOR controls Peach Twig Borer (PTB) and Oriental Fruit Moth (OFM). Apparently, this is highly selective and is perfectly safe for honeybees and other beneficial bugs.

Young peach..