Blue Diamond Almond Bloom Report – March 8, 2013
Blue Diamond Almonds – Almond Bloom Report – March 8, 2013
Northern California Almond Bloom Report –
Variably cloudy skies covered the Sacramento Valley on Thursday as the debris from a storm system passing off the coast spread across the region. Morning low temperatures dropped into the mid 30’s in the clear areas of the region, with readings a few degrees higher under cloudier skies. Daytime highs were reported at more uniform levels, with readings reaching into the upper 50’s. Observers reported that no rain fell during the day, but that the cloudy skies slightly inhibited the bee’s desire to work the fields, resulting in 4 to 5 hours of fair to good activity.
The almond bloom in the Sacramento Valley continues to recede, with all varieties now moving into the petal fall and jacket stages. With only an insignificant proportion of its flowers remaining open, the Sonora variety has essentially completed its bloom for the year. The same may be said of the Peerless, which has completely moved into the petal fall and stages. The California types are also declining quickly and lead the Monterey and Nonpareil in the final stages of their bloom period. The greatest proportion of viable bloom is found in the Butte and Padre, which have already reached their peak bloom and have joined the balance of the regions varieties in the steady transition into the petal fall and jacket stages of development.
Forecasters are now calling for clear skies and warmer temperatures during the coming week.
Conditions
| High Temperature: | 59°F |
| Low Temperature: | 33°F |
| Wind: | 2 to 10 mph. |
| Rain: | None |
| Sky Conditions: | Partly cloudy. |
| Bee Activity: | 5 to 6 hours of fair to good bee activity. |
Bloom Status
| Dormant | Green Tip | Pink Bud | Popcorn | Bloom | Petal Fall | Jacket | Nutlet | |
| Sonora | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 5% | 27% | 68% | 0% |
| Nonpareil | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 40% | 40% | 20% | 0% |
| California | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 16% | 52% | 32% | 0% |
| Carmel | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 52% | 28% | 20% | 0% |
| Peerless | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 20% | 80% | 0% |
| Monterey | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 35% | 42% | 23% | 0% |
| Butte | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 63% | 30% | 7% | 0% |
| Padre | 0% | 0% | 0% | 4% | 73% | 21% | 2% | 0% |
Data reflects a composite of the growing region
Central California Almond Bloom Report –
Growers woke to partly cloudy skies over the central region on Thursday morning as the discarded clouds from a Pacific weather system traveling just off the California coast spun across the state. Clouds increased as the day progressed, coalescing into overcast skies by mid-day. However, unlike the previous day, which brought blustery winds, light breezes ruled the day on Wednesday. Morning lows were widely reported in the mid 40’s to lower 50’s while daytime highs reached only into the upper 50’s. Observers reported that a few scattered showers towards the end of the day dropped just enough moisture to moisten the pavement, with rain of greater intensity falling after sunset.
Observers noted that the cloud-darkened skies reduced the bee’s desire to leave their hives and reported a total of 4 hours of poor to fair activity for the day.The degree of petal fall continues to increase across the central region as the 2013 almond bloom evolves towards its inevitable conclusion. Butte and Padre are now displaying the greatest proportion of viable bloom, even though most plantings of these late blooming varieties have already reached their peak bloom and have begun the transition into the petal fall and jacket stages. Also shown in today’s photos, the Sonora variety has an insignificant amount of bloom available for pollination. Instead, previously pollinated nutlets can be easily observed growing within their jackets, in some cases, even though the flowers are still holding all five of their petals and appear to be in bloom. The bloom of the Nonpareil, California types and the Carmel are currently declining steadily, with petals being shed from the trees each day, though the pace of petal fall slowed a bit on Thursday as calmer conditions prevailed.
Conditions
| High Temperature: | 59°F |
| Low Temperature: | 46°F |
| Wind: | 2 to 10 mph. |
| Rain: | Trace to 0.1 inches. |
| Sky Conditions: | Mostly cloudy. |
| Bee Activity: | 4 to 5 hours of fair to good bee activity. |
Bloom Status
| Dormant | Green Tip | Pink Bud | Popcorn | Bloom | Petal Fall | Jacket | Nutlet | |
| Sonora | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 20% | 37% | 43% | 0% |
| Nonpareil | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 66% | 22% | 12% | 0% |
| California | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 47% | 27% | 26% | 0% |
| Carmel | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 80% | 14% | 6% | 0% |
| Monterey | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 82% | 15% | 3% | 0% |
| Butte | 0% | 0% | 0% | 6% | 88% | 5% | 1% | 0% |
| Padre | 0% | 0% | 0% | 12% | 86% | 2% | 0% | 0% |
Data reflects a composite of the growing region
Southern California Almond Bloom Report –
Overcast to mostly cloudy skies covered the southern region at sunrise on Thursday, providing a slow start to the day. Morning low temperatures were reported in the 40’s throughout the region, while daytime highs ranged between the upper 50’s and lower 60’s, with highest readings reported in the Kern County area. While the clouds appeared threatening, the rain held off until after sunset, when trace amounts to as much as 0.2 inch was reported. Observers reported that the cloud-darkened skies reduced the bee’s inspiration to leave their hives, providing for a late and somewhat slow start of their workday. Accordingly, best conditions in the region’s northern areas provided for 6 to 7 hours of fair activity, while heavier clouds in the southern areas reduced the length of bee flight to only 4 hours, which were also described as fair in nature.
Calmer conditions on Thursday reduced the pace of petal fall in the southern San Joaquin Valley, but not the pace of bud development. With an average of 10% of its flowers open and available for pollination, the early blooming Sonora variety will complete its bloom period over the coming weekend, though many advanced plantings have already completed their bloom and have no viable flowers remaining in the trees. The California types lead the balance of the region’s varieties into the petal fall and jacket stages. Nonpareil on average now has the just below 50% of its flowers still viable and remains well overlapped with its associated pollenizers, particularly the Carmel and Monterey. Since the start of the almond bloom, observers in Kern County have noted the apparently reduced pace of bud development evident in a portion of the Nonpareil plantings, resulting in a delay in the progression of the bloom in comparison to the balance of the region. Observers are now reporting that these same orchards are exhibiting a weaker or reduced bloom, with a lower number of flowers in the trees. The greatest amount of viable bloom is now found in the late blooming Butte and Padre varieties. While the Butte has just passed its peak and now has a measurable proportion of its flowers in the jacket stage, the Padre is just reaching its peak and has the greatest proportion of its bloom open and available for pollination.
Conditions
| High Temperature: | 62F |
| Low Temperature: | 42°F |
| Wind: | 2 to 10 mph. |
| Rain: | Trace to 0.2. |
| Sky Conditions: | Mostly cloudy |
| Bee Activity: | 6 to 7 Hours in the north. 4 hours in the south. All fair activity. |
Bloom Status
| Dormant | Green Tip | Pink Bud | Popcorn | Bloom | Petal Fall | Jacket | Nutlet | |
| Sonora | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 10% | 27% | 63% | 0% |
| Nonpareil | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 48% | 36% | 16% | 0% |
| California | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 26% | 36% | 38% | 0% |
| Carmel | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 67% | 29% | 4% | 0% |
| Monterey | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 59% | 23% | 18% | 0% |
| Butte | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 86% | 13% | 1% | 0% |
| Padre | 0% | 0% | 0% | 5% | 90% | 5% | 0% | 0% |
Data reflects a composite of the growing region