Trees & Vines

Winegrape grower and volunteer firefighter Johnnie White examines a vineyard in Pope Valley, at the northeast edge of Napa Valley, that was used last month as a fire break to stop the Pickett Fire. Growers in the region have coordinated with Cal Fire to leverage agricultural resources as a fire defense. 
Photo/Caleb Hampton

Sonoma County farmer Brooke Hazen specializes in growing heirloom apples. His farm in Sebastopol produces 70 heirloom varieties, making him one of the nation’s largest growers of heirloom apples.    
Photo/Paige Green

An almond shaker harvests nuts in Yolo County. California produces about 80% of the world’s almonds, but growers have struggled in recent years with high input costs and low returns. Almond prices increased this year before dropping sharply last month in response to a large crop forecast.
Photo/Caleb Hampton

Tulare County farmer Rafael Macias, left, and Fresno-based citrus consultant Max Cardey III, center, examine new citrus varieties on display during Citrus Field Day at the University of California, Riverside, earlier this year.
Photo/David Karp /University of California, Riverside

Sutter County farmer Chetan Khera harvested more fruit than was forecast from his family’s block of early-ripening Stanislaus peaches. Other cling peach growers were not as fortunate, with early yields lagging behind initial crop estimates, according to the California Canning Peach Association.
Photo/Caleb Hampton

A work crew puts up shade cloth at an apple orchard belonging to JJB Family Farms, which grows the Modi apple in Sacramento County.
Photo/Courtesy of JJB Family Farms

Leaffooted bugs use long stylets, or feeding tubes, to probe almonds and feed on the developing kernel. After mating, the insects may lay up to 200 eggs in the spring.
Photo/Vicky Boyd

A walnut tree succumbs to Phytophthora root and crown rot, which can afflict plants if the soil around them remains wet for prolonged periods. 
Photo/Vicky Boyd

Photo/Vicky Boyd

Bins of early-season Bosc pears from the Sacramento River Delta growing district move through the orchard on their way to the packinghouse. With a larger crop this year, California pear growers brace for potential impacts of one of their key buyers—Del Monte Foods—filing for bankruptcy protection.  
Photo/Ching Lee

Farmers across the Central Valley say neglected orchards are attracting pests that affect neighboring farms.
Photo/Caleb Hampton

At a field day in Modesto, University of California Cooperative Extension pomology adviser emeritus Roger Duncan walks attendees through 30 almond varieties involved in the fourth-generation Stanislaus County regional variety trial.
Photo/Vicky Boyd

Bins of harvested cherries from an orchard near Linden are loaded onto a trailer. The crop in San Joaquin County is estimated to be more than 40% lighter than the five-year average, prompting the county agricultural commissioner to submit a disaster declaration request to the state.
Photo/Vicky Boyd

Lemons are harvested in Ventura County during the 2020 season, when the region faced the beginning of several years of fluctuating weather conditions that have impacted trees and fruit quality. 
Photo/Silas Fallstich

A data logger records readings from a FloraPulse microtensiometer, which measures water potential in almond trees. The sensor is embedded directly into the tree’s woody tissue, providing continuous and accurate readings of water status. The data collected can be used to optimize irrigation practices and improve tree health.
Photo/Ryan Kaplan

At a San Joaquin County farm east of Lodi, a tractor operator pushes over an old vineyard. The removal will take several weeks and requires hand crews to separate metal stakes and trellising, and then pile the woody vines.
Photo/Vicky Boyd

Equipment skirt-prunes a table olive orchard as part of a University of California trial at the Nickels Soil Laboratory in Colusa County. Researchers found that skirt-pruning during May and June does not affect yield and increases efficiency of machine harvest by 19%. 
Photo/Becky Wheeler-Dykes

California’s avocado industry sent 350 million pounds of the fruit to packinghouses in 2024, and this year’s crop could reach 375 million pounds.
Photo/Rob McCarthy

Agricultural biologist Rochelle Romano checks traps in Vacaville for the glassy-winged sharpshooter, a vector for Pierce’s disease.
Photo/Sapana Pandey

Ag Alert file photo

The high-tech Smart Apply system individually controls air-blast sprayer nozzles to match material applications to canopy density, resulting in potentially reduced pesticide use.

Photo/Courtesy of John Deere