PISTACHIO FIELD TRIALS: DECREASED NEMATODE DENSITIES PART 2

In 2022, the pistachio industry contributed over $6.4 billion to California’s economy, ranking as the fourth-largest agricultural commodity in the state, following milk, almonds, and grapes. Our goal is to assess the impact of soil fumigation on pistachio orchard establishment, tree growth, and the potential acceleration of early yields.

Last year, we initiated two multi-year field trials in Fresno County: one in Firebaugh and the other in Caruthers. Our primary aim is to assess the advantages of TELONE™ and PIC (Chloropicrin) in facilitating early rootstock establishment, fostering early growth, and fortifying root systems, as evidenced in other crop markets. (If you missed our previous blog post on this topic, you can read it here: https://trical.com/2023/07/31/pistachio-field-trials-decreased-nematode-densities/

In Fall 2023, we gathered tree circumference data from the designated treatments. All fumigant treatments exhibited an increase in growth compared to the untreated control (UTC). Particularly, C-35 (35% PIC) demonstrated a significant growth boost compared to C-15 (15% PIC) and TELONE™ II.

Regarding the Plant Parasitic Nematode Assessment (PPN), there was a noteworthy reduction in PPN densities across fumigant treatments compared to the untreated control. TELONE™ II, C-15, and C-35 showed minimal resurgence of PPNs, whereas the untreated control exhibited infestation by dagger, root knot, and ring nematodes.

This upcoming Spring season, we will revisit the field sites to continue evaluating the efficacy of soil fumigant treatments and monitor tree and canopy growth in both pistachio trials.

Stay tuned to our blog for further updates on the progress of this trial research.

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