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  Led by APG Director of Government Relations, Cadee Condit, APG hosted an event with the Problem Solvers Caucus in Sacramento, California in April. The Problem Solvers Caucus is comprised of 18 members of the California State Legislature. They are a bi-cameral/bi-partisan group whose mission is to put good public policy issues above partisan politics. This event offered an ideal opportunity to showcase APG to the legislators.  
     
   
     
 
Also in attendance: Assemblymember Heath Flora AD 9, Assemblymember Juan Carrillo AD 39, Assemblymember Tom Lackey AD 34, Senator Josh Newman SD 29 and Assemblymember Laurie Davies AD 74.
 
   
  Registered Dietitian-Nutritionists, Jamie Lee McIntyre and Carissa Galloway, shared the exciting news about the antioxidant levels found in pistachios during multiple broadcast segments that aired in local markets throughout the U.S. on popular news sites such as ABC, CBS, and NBC. During these segments, they discussed the benefits of antioxidants for healthy aging and offered easy ways to include pistachios in a daily diet. 12 segments were broadcast and then published on each news stations' websites. They were viewed over 1 million times.  
   
 
 
     
 
According to a 2021 Media Comparison Study, 42% of consumers are most influenced by TV when making purchase decisions.
 
     
     
   
  In March, APG distributed a press release for World Sports Day in Italy, which focused on the importance of nutrition for active lifestyles. In the press release, APG nutrition expert, Giorgio Donegani, explained the crucial role that nutrition plays in workout recovery and why American pistachios are the perfect post-workout snack, focusing on their antioxidant and complete protein benefits. To date, the press release has resulted in 36 placements in news, health and lifestyle publications throughout Italy, and were viewed over 17 million times by consumers.  
   
     
   
 
In Spain, APG collaborated with Salud & Bienestar, a health and wellness magazine that is popular among the health, pharmacy, nutrition and nursing sectors, to promote the news that pistachios are very high in antioxidants. The promotion included a full-page ad, as well as an article that highlighted the antioxidant and complete protein benefits of American pistachios.
 
     
   
     
 
In February, APG exhibited and presented at Gesund Leben, a health, nutrition and fitness conference, in Frankfurt, Germany. APG nutrition expert, Dr. Wiebke Elsner's presentation, "American Pistachios: Antioxidant Powerhouse," focused on the new study that revealed American pistachios are high in antioxidants. 4,000 health, nutrition and fitness professionals attended the event.
 
   
     
  In April, American pistachio sample packs and pistachio recipes were given to attendees of the final 4 Handball Championship games in Germany. APG advertisements featuring their antioxidant message were displayed on the LED boards surrounding the field during the games. The games were broadcast live on Sky Sports and ARD to an audience of more than 7.6 million viewers. Over 19,000 people attended the event in person.  
     
     
   
  APG nutrition expert, Nigel Mitchell, was featured in the UK's popular Women’s Fitness magazine. In the article, Nigel shares nutrition tips for cyclists, including choosing convenient, portable and healthy snacks such as American pistachios because they are a complete protein source that also contains antioxidants such as carotenoids, lutein and zeaxanthin. The magazine has a circulation of more than 30,000 readers.  
     
     
   
     
 

In April, as part of a Ramadan social media series, Celebrity Chef Rakhee Vaswani shared 2 pistachio dessert recipes: Pistachio Kulfi and Pistachio Baklava Cups. In her videos, she highlighted pistachios as an ideal ingredient for festive recipes and discussed the many health benefits of American pistachios. The videos were viewed over 300,000 times.

One of India's most popular mixologists, Nitin Tewari, also known as "Mr. Bartrender," curated an American pistachio cocktail recipe. In his video, he demonstrated his Coconut and Pistachio Summer Cocktail recipe and explained that he loves including pistachios in his cocktails because they are low in saturated fat and high in protein. The video was viewed more than 78,000 times.
 
     
   
     
  In March, APG exhibited and presented at the Guangdong Nutrition Society Annual Conference, a popular nutrition conference in the Guangdong Province of China. APG nutrition expert and Director of Health Management Department, Center of Disease Control and Prevention in Shenzen City, Xu Jian, presented "Antioxidant Activity of Common Foods." He spoke about the significant role that American pistachios play in a daily diet, emphasizing their many health benefits as a plant-based source of complete protein. More than 8,500 nutritionists, doctors and health professionals attended the lecture in person and virtually.  
   
  APG presented the results of the new study that reveals pistachios are high in antioxidants during a media event held at the conference. The media also sampled pistachio recipes by Chef Martin Yan. The event resulted in articles published in health and fitness publications in China, which were viewed over 26 million times.  
     
     
   
     
  Robert H. Beede
UC Farm Advisor, Emeritus		  
 
 
Spring Oddities: We started the season with excellent winter chilling even at higher elevations. That said, we do find areas of the southern San Joaquin Valley that appear to be small "banana belts." This potentially could still have received marginal chilling, but one will never know for sure unless a weather station is installed within the orchard to record essential data for chilling assessment, effects of temperature on fruit set, and degree growing hours for monitoring crop development and harvest maturity. Accurate weather data is also critical for monitoring navel orangeworm (NOW) development and correct spray timing. An example of the above is the farm call I made April 24 along Gale Avenue on the west side of the California Aqueduct. The winter chilling in this area was GENERALLY high this season, I was perplexed as to why the Kerman trees at the base of the Aqueduct were fully leafed out with almost fully enlarged nuts, and the trees in the same block one-quarter mile west had only 25% canopy and were still in bloom! I questioned the zinc status of the trees, since its deficiency can cause this dramatic differential. However, the uniformity of the delayed leafing made me suspicious of this diagnosis; the grower also told me they were on a rigorous micronutrient program, and the zinc levels were supposedly good on the tissue analysis. However, one must be careful with declaring zinc is more than adequate when the analysis shows 25 or more ppm, because that level is very likely reflecting the foliar sprays which become ADsorbed into the waxy cuticular surface of the leaf, and not necessarily ABsorbed into the plant tissue for utilization. This is one of the HUGE problems, in my professional opinion, in properly assessing the actual zinc, boron, and copper status of deciduous trees after foliar micronutrient treatment, and one that the UC nutritionists should address by determining if plant SAP might actually be used. Some labs report this data, but I am not aware of ANY UC research validating its accuracy! So, without sound science to quantify the values derived from sap analysis, we have no way of knowing if they have value in guiding a fertilization program. I also noticed that the trees had been heavily pruned for eighth-leaf trees, which can remove a lot of carbohydrates (CHO) from the one-year-old wood. Late pruning of Golden Hills has also been observed to protract leaf out. In this case, both the trees at the base of the Aqueduct and the west end had been pruned sufficiently early and by the same crew. So, what was causing the west side to be so delayed in leafing that it threatened orchard productivity in a year when normal tree development was already 10-14 days behind? Having NO WEATHER DATA, I determined that there was a 31-foot elevation difference over the quarter mile distance between the east and west ends of the field. I hypothesized that even though we had lots of chilling this winter, much of those cold temperatures must have flowed down this alluvial fan from the coastal range and accumulated in the cove created by the 20-foot-high Aqueduct levee. I told the grower that if I was correct, the canopy of the delayed trees should develop quickly with the arrival of hot weather. If they did not, and the leaves remained small, then zinc should be suspect. One week later, after the 96° and 101° F temperatures spiked the following Friday and Saturday (April 28 and 29), the grower called me to declare that the canopy had exploded like a Chippendale out of a birthday cake! So, THIS is why I keep beating the drum for orchard-based weather data!! The west side of the field apparently didn't experience as much chilling as the "hole" next to the Aqueduct!
   
Nuts per Cluster? I also have had numerous calls expressing concern about the fewer number of nuts that have been set per compound inflorescence (aka cluster). The growers surmise that there must be something wrong, because we had excellent chilling this winter, and a huge number of flower buds per tree in most cases. Rather than 15-20 nuts per cluster, they report only about ten. How can THAT be?? Unless the trees are deficient in zinc or boron, the reason for the reduction in PERCENT SET per compound flower is because there are FOUR TIMES the clusters per tree! Even with as much as a 50% reduction in set per cluster, there is TWICE the crop per tree if you have four times as many clusters. So, there is plenty of fruit on the tree; it's just distributed differently. You will see that trees with fewer clusters have a more normal set percentage than those with an unusually high cluster count.
   
Monitor regularly for small plant bug activity that can still penetrate the shells and cause early Epicarp lesion. Go to the UCIPM website for pistachios and learn how to identify the small plant bugs. Big-eyed bug, box elder bug, and assassin bug do not cause lesion. Neither does the gray rough shielded stink bug, which can be easily mistaken for the new marmorated stink bug.
   
Monitor shell hardening to get an estimated date of when they are difficult to cut. Although the shells continue to harden incrementally from now until harvest, we still use shell hardening as an index for crop development in June. It is VERY important that you monitor shell hardening this year to get an idea as to how late nut development is! This is going to affect the onset of kernel filling also, so you will have to make adjustments in your fertilizer and NOW spray timings. NOW got a late start this season, so stay in touch with your pest consultant to find out what activity you have.
   
Do not rely on your moisture sensors to assess soil water content prior to the onset of kernel fill in late-June to the first week of July. Go out with an auger now and soil sample to assess how deep your moisture is. Also assess whether or not the drip water is wandering over the surface of the soil. This suggests that your calcium concentrations in the soil surface are low, and it’s decreasing your infiltration rate. Apply a source of free calcium, such as gypsum if this is the case. You must correct this before the onset of kernel fill so it does not cause water stress. High bicarbonates in your irrigation water will also convert the free calcium in the surface soil to lime and render it unavailable for mitigating poor infiltration unless you combat the reaction with acidification of your water or the application of soil sulfur.
   
Begin to monitor in early July for the presence and abundance of early pea splits. These are the link for overwintering navel orange worm to develop on new crop at a more rapid rate. They set the stage for potential damage at harvest. Alert your PCA to what you see.
   
Review your soil nitrogen and potassium levels as well as your May tissue samples with your crop advisor. University of California research shows that 90% percent of the pistachio nitrogen and potassium requirement is consumed during kernel fill. Estimate your crop load and use the UC guidelines to determine how much nitrogen and potassium is necessary to meet it.
   
Be on the lookout for false chinch bug and citrus flat mite as the weather warms.
   
Make arrangements now with a contractor to bud your newly planted pistachio trees. Have them come out and assess plant development to determine when yours will be ready. Remember that there is a royalty for the new varieties that is due to the University of California. Lightly fertilize the rootstocks about 10 days ahead of budding to ensure they are succulent. Follow your contractor's instructions on water management before budding; typically irrigation is applied about five days ahead.
   
Keep the weeds out of newly planted trees; make frequent passes on second leaf trees to avoid removing large amounts of shoot material when they are tipped for branching.
   
Use as much low salt water this year as possible and add a leaching fraction to push the sodium down past your effective root zone. Consult with your soils advisor to develop the correct plan for your soil chemistry. Don't start kernel fill with dry soil! It will take too long to relieve the water stress, and this will reduce the initial kernel sizing rate which I believe has a big effect on shell splitting. Application of kaolin clay materials to reduce leaf temperatures and transpiration in pistachios was studied by Blake Sanden, UC Soils and Water Farm Advisor, Kern County, Emeritus, in 2010. This one study showed NO water savings. Research by Dr. Bruce Lampinen, Nut Crop Specialist at UCD, found that applying a kaolin clay-based product to walnuts made stressed trees even more stressed since the reduced leaf temperature allowed stomata (gas exchange and water vapor loss sites) to stay open longer. Reference your UC Pistachio Production Manual for deficit irrigation scenarios developed by Dr. David Goldhamer, retired pistachio irrigation researcher.
   
  Happy Farming!