By John Wood, Certis USA Regional Manager

Almond set is still variable due to frost and hail damage. Walnuts are just finishing blooming. Pistachios are pushing and forming buds getting ready to bloom. And right now, young trees are susceptible to earwig and cutworm damage.

To protect those young trees, I recommend the application of Seduce. Seduce contains spinosad, which is derived from a naturally occurring soil dwelling bacterium that is formulated in a pelletized, soil-applied formulation that requires no mixing or spraying. Seduce can last up to 60 days in tree guard cartons, even in wet conditions. Plus, Seduce has a 4-hour reentry interval, zero-day pre-harvest interval and is OMRI Listed and NOP Approved so it can be used on trees in commercial or organic production.

To combat mite and aphid flareups that can happen this time of the year, especially in almonds, consider using PFR-97 alone or in your tank mix. PFR-97 is a miticide and soft-bodied insecticide that contains the spores of a naturally occurring fungus, Isaria fumosorosea strain Apopka 97, originally isolated by the University of Florida. PFR-97 penetrates, parasitizes and kills insect and mite pests causing death shortly after infection.

PFR-97 has a 4-hour reentry interval and a zero-day pre-harvest interval. It is residue exempt, so you have no MRLs or limitations on where you export your crop. PFR-97 can be tank mixed with a wide variety of insecticides, miticides and herbicides (do not tank mix with some fungicides).   

Next issue, we’ll revisit Bts. Until next time.