Navel orangeworm (NOW) is the primary insect pest of almonds in California. It poses a high risk to an almond crop because the worms bore into the nut and feed on the nutmeat. Not only is the nut damaged, but the feeding opens the door to Aspergillus molds, which can produce aflatoxins, a food safety contaminant.
Responsible almond farming requires protecting the crop and trees from pests, weeds, and disease through an integrated pest management approach. When it comes to NOW, the first step is monitoring pest levels. This video provides an unbiased review of NOW monitoring tools growers may consider as part of their greater IPM program.
Growers should follow a four step IPM program to minimize navel orangeworm damage and risk of aflatoxin:
Winter sanitation to remove and destroy mummy nuts
Use of mating disruption
Monitoring of NOW populations and timing of adult NOW moth flights to time use of insecticides or biological control agents
Prompt harvest before a third generation of NOW develops
Navel orangeworm (NOW) is the leading pest of almonds in California. The Almond Board has been funding research on NOW for more than four decades, working to address the management needs of growers and PCA’s. Two fundamental components of a sound integrated pest management program for NOW are trapping and monitoring, and the deployment of mating disruption. Trapping and monitoring allows for tracking of NOW populations in an orchard, while mating disruption reduces the population size throughout the growing season. This resource provides an overview of tools for NOW mating disruption.
This video provides an unbiased review of NOW mating disruption technologies growers may consider as part of their greater IPM program.
In June 2019, the Almond Board of California, in collaboration with the Pistachio and Walnut Research Boards, hosted the first joint Navel Orangeworm (NOW) Summit. The event provided growers, processors, shippers and government agencies an opportunity to discuss the continued economic impact of Navel Orangeworm (NOW) on almond, pistachio and walnut production and marketing. Solutions to NOW pest management were discussed and on-site vendors proved additional information about their management products.
In addition to navel orangeworm, almonds are subject to an array of insect and mite pests, including peach twig borer, San Jose scale and web-spinning mites. Information on these pests may be found on the UC IPM website: click on ‘Agricultural Pests,’ then ‘Almonds.’