Carpenter ranch update: One spray to defend. One spray to protect.

We applied a spray of herbicide to the entire floor of the orchard. We then mowed the dead weeds and the orchard cleaned up nicely.

We also finished applying the "hull split" spray. The spray includes an insecticide for Peach Twig Borers and Navel Orange Worm, the two most serious worm pests of almonds, and a miticide.

Jacket split phase of almond growth..

So, a newly formed baby almond tears off its jacket and throws it on the orchard floor. Because the jacket doesn't fit it any more and it's too hot anyway. That's jacket split. 

Once an almond flower is fertilized (thanks to the bees), ovary enlarges and it splits the floral tube (jacket) and nutlet emerges. This tiny nutlet will grow into a nice mature almond fruit later on. This nutlet will break completely free of its protective jacket due to warm dry conditions.

Please click on the following picture so you can clearly see the jackets and nutlets on the trees.

However, if wet weather persists, jacket could continue to stick to the fruit and could be colonized by fungi and such. That would be a problem, for sure! It's called jacket rot.

Petal fall has begun in earnest!

There are still plenty of blossoms for the bees to work (and they are). Blossoms can be pollinated for a time even after the petals fall. When there is no crop, leaves grow very rapidly because the nutlets are making no demand for the resources of the tree. So far the leaves are growing slowly which is a positive indicator that we may have a good crop.

Trees of the fragrant forest! We emerged from the cold front with no damage..

OK. Perhaps not so fragrant, but the bloom still looks like heaven on earth.

"A breeze thru the almond trees gushes by
Making hundreds of flowers fly high
And beauties that once ornamented the tree,
In a snow-flaky fashion, a pleasure to see,
Fall down on mother earth, fall down on me."

Full bloom

A picture is worth a million flowers. Click on it to see it in its full grandeur.