Groundwater pumping chronically exceeds natural recharge in many agricultural regions in California. A common method of recharging groundwater -when surface water is available -is to deliberately flood an open area, allowing water to percolate into an aquifer. However, open land suitable for this type of recharge is scarce. Flooding agricultural land during fallow or dormant periods has the potential to increase groundwater recharge substantially, but this approach has not been well studied. Using data on soils, topography and crop type, we developed a spatially explicit index of the suitability for groundwater recharge of land in all agricultural regions in California. We identified 3.6 million acres of agricultural land statewide as having Excellent or Good potential for groundwater recharge. The index provides preliminary guidance about the locations where groundwater recharge on agricultural land is likely to be feasible. A variety of institutional, infrastructure and other issues must also be addressed before this practice can be implemented widely.

BACKGROUND: Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), a new method of application to deliver pesticides, is rapidly being adopted for commercial use in crop protection in East Asia with increasing worldwide interest. Pest control in mature almond orchards with dense foliar canopies presents greater coverage challenges than field crops and smaller orchard or vineyard crops. We investigated the use of an electric hexacopter to provide acceptable spray deposition and canopy penetration to be considered credible for use in an almond pest control program. RESULTS: The performance of the aerial and ground methods at different spray volumes were compared by analyzing spray deposition on water sensitive papers, insecticide residues on filter papers and residues on whole unhulled almonds at three canopy elevations. Overall residue levels of chlorantraniliprole insecticide on whole unhulled almonds across all pooled canopy strata were similar between UAV applied at 46.8 L/ha and 93.5 L/ha and the comparative air blast sprayer treatments applied at 935 L/ha. However, significant interactions between canopy elevation and spray method showed distinct residue patterns between the two application methods. Penetration and spray deposition at the lower canopy were observed and validated for the UAV application. Pest efficacy was evaluated by measuring nut damage at harvest. CONCLUSION: This study presents promising data that support the potential innovative integration of UAV's into crop protection programs for large canopy crops such as almonds and may guide future research for developing relevant label recommendations.

Marginally nitrogen (N)-deficient, field-grown peach trees [Prunus persica (L.) Batsch (Peach Group) 'O' Henry'] were used to evaluate seasonal patterns of tree N uptake, vegetative growth, and yield following fall or spring fertilization. Sequential tree excavations and determinations of tree biomass and N contents in Feb. and Aug. allowed estimation of N uptake by fall-fertilized trees between September 1993 and mid-February 1994. Total N uptake (by difference) by spring- fertilized trees as well as additional N uptake by fall-fertilized trees over the spring.summer period was also determined. In fall-fertilized trees, only 24% of tree N accumulation between September 1993 and August 1994 occurred during the fall/dormancy period. Spring- and fall-fertilized trees exhibited comparable vegetative growth, fruit size, and yield despite lower dormant tree N contents and tissue N concentrations in the spring-fertilized trees. Fifty percent of tree leaf N content was available for resorption from leaves for storage in woody tree parts. This amount (N at ~30.kghhhhhhha-1) was calculated to represent more than 80% of the N storage capacity in perennial tree parts of fertilized peach trees. Our data suggest that leaf N resorption, even without fall soil N application, can provide sufficient N from storage to initiate normal growth until plant-available soil N is accessed in spring.

Almond canker diseases are destructive and can reduce the yield as well as the lifespan of almond orchards. These diseases may affect the trunk and branches of both young and mature trees, and in severe cases can result in tree death soon after orchard establishment. Between 2015 and 2018, 70 almond orchards were visited throughout the Central Valley of California upon requests from farm advisors for canker disease diagnosis. Two major canker diseases were identified including Botryosphaeriaceae cankers and Ceratocystis canker. In addition, five, less prevalent canker diseases were identified including, Cytospora-, Eutypa-, Diaporthe-, Collophorina and Pallidophorina canker. Seventy-four fungal isolates were selected for multi-locus phylogenetic analyses of ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 (ITS), and part of the translation elongation factor 1-α (TEF1- α), β-tubulin (TUB2), and glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GPD) gene sequences, which identified 27 species including 12 Botryosphaeriaceae species, Ceratocystis destructans, five Cytospora species, Collophorina hispanica, four Diaporthe species, two Diatrype species, Eutypa lata, and Pallidophorina paarla. The most frequently isolated species were C. destructans, Neoscytalidium dimidiatum and C. californica. Pathogenicity experiments on almond cv. Nonpareil revealed that N. parvum, N. arbuti and N. mediterraneum were the most virulent. Botryosphaeriaceae cankers were predominantly found in young orchards and symptoms were most prevalent on the trunks of trees. Ceratocystis canker was most commonly found in mature orchards and associated with symptoms found on trunks or large scaffold branches. This study provides a thorough examination of the diversity and pathogenicity of fungal pathogens associated with branch and trunk cankers of almond in California.

Four adjacent heavily cropping 12-year-old `Petite d'Agen' prune (Prunus domestica L.) trees were selected, and two of the trees were defruited in late spring (28 May) after the spring growth flush and full leaf expansion. Trees received K daily through the drip-irrigation system, and 15N-depleted (NH4)2SO4 was applied twice between the dates of defruiting and fruit maturation. Trees were excavated at the time of fruit maturity (28 July) and fractionated into their component parts. The following determinations were made after tree excavation and sample processing: tree dry weight, dry weight distribution among the various tree fractions (fruit, leaves, roots, trunk, and branches), tree nutrient contents, within-tree nutrient distribution, total nonstructural carbohydrates (TNCs), and recovery of labeled N. Trees only recovered ≈3% of the isotopically labeled fertilizer N over the 6-week experimental period. Heavily cropping trees absorbed ≈9 g more K per tree (17% of total tree K content) during the 2-month period of stage III fruit growth than defruited trees. The enhanced K uptake in heavily cropping trees was apparently conditioned by the large fruit K demand and occurred despite greatly reduced levels of starch and TNCs relative to defruited trees. Fruit K accumulation in heavily cropping trees was accompanied by K depletion from leaves and perennial tree parts. Except for K, fruited and defruited trees did not differ in nutrient content.