Independent Consulting and Research

THE AG CONSULTANTS YOU GROW WITH

Specialized Pest Control Advisers and Certified Crop Advisors

Estimating the navel orangeworm population in your orchard can take the guess-work out of reducing harvest damage!

Send us a sample of the almond mummies from your orchard and we will give you the information you need for season long management.

Cost: $30.00 per sample - Bulk discounts may be available

Turn around time: Varies, usually within 1-2 weeks

mummy inspections & reports

Mummy nuts - the key to navel orangeworm management

Every winter, nuts that remain in the trees after harvest (mummies) serve as over-wintering sites for Navel Orangeworm (NOW). Over-wintering larvae become the source of next year's harvest damage. There is a direct relationship between the amount of potentially damaging worms present in an orchard and the management of these infested mummies. Sanitization is one of the single most important practices a grower can implement in any almond or pistachio orchard when fighting this pest!

Don't just take our word for it! Here are some other industry voices on the importance of managing mummies in almonds.

Almond doctor - Role of winter sanitation for navel orangeworm management

UC IPM pest management guidelines for navel orangeworm (see Management section)

Western Farm Press - Winter sanitation key to combating Navel orangeworm

Almond Board - Winter sanitation vital for navel orangeworm control

SacValleyOrchards - Orchard sanitation for navel orangeworm control

Orchard Sanitation

Industry research has shown orchard sanitation, or removing the mummies from the trees, is an effective means of reducing the overwintering population. However, the labor cost required to shake and pole mummies below the recommended threshold of 2 mummies per tree can be prohibitive for many growers.

Integral Orchard Sanitation

Through our own research and experience we have developed a method of establishing a unique threshold for each orchard by inspecting a sample of mummy nuts from each variety within an orchard. This helps to increase the efficiency of sanitation practices by allowing growers to focus sanitation efforts where it is needed most and reducing over sanitation where it is not.

How It Is different

Industry recommendations focus on the number of nuts per tree, but what we focus on is the number of moths per tree. Our sampling protocol and inspections allow us to pinpoint problem blocks or varieties that contain the most number of worms so you can be confident you are spending your money where it will do the most good.

How It works

You collect and send us a sample of mummies from each variety in your orchard(s) using our simple sample collection protocol. Or at an additional charge call to arrange to have one of our representatives pick up your mummies for you. We inspect the sample and send you a report with detailed recommendations including:

The average number of mummies per tree to achieve 1-2% worm damage to the Nonpareil the following season
Which varieties to target
How your orchard's infest ranks among your county and the state.

Below are the links to get you started!

Want to create a business account? A business account will require no upfront payment. Instead we will send an invoice once we receive a request for services. Please fill out the form below.

Available for Almonds and Pistachios

Business Account Form

Submission Form

Instructions: Sample Collection and Submission