Oct 22, 2026 · 11 min · 7 segments
A shorter edition with verified agriculture news and updates. AI-generated host voices; AI-assisted script. This episode uses AI-generated voices and an AI-assisted script.
Sacramento Valley almond quality improved overall in August receipts, while independents moved in the opposite direction.
In an October 20 update, UC Cooperative Extension Orchard Systems Advisor Franz Niederholzer and UC IPM Advisor Sudan Ghiawali reviewed Almond Board of California figures showing total rejects at 1.70%, compared with 2.25% in August 2025.
That's a decline of 0.55 percentage points.
These are early delivery figures, not a final assessment of the region's 2026 crop.
The variety breakdown matters.
Nonpareil rejects fell from 2.4% in August 2025 to 1.6% this August.
Independence rejects rose from 1.7% to 2.2% over the same comparison.
Nonpareil accounted for roughly 75 to 80% of August volume in both years, so it represented most of the receipts behind the regional figures.
Together, Nonpareil and Independence made up more than 95% of August receipts in each year.
The overall improvement, therefore, does not describe every variety's experience.
Niederholzer and Giaouli say navel orangeworm pressure appears generally lower than in 2025.
They identify favorable sanitation weather early last winter, the absence of sustained summer heat, and active pest management as possible contributors.
Those are early explanations drawn from trap counts and discussions with growers and pest control advisors, not a measured breakdown of how much each factor changed rejects.
The authors caution that it is still too early to draw firm conclusions about quality for the entire season.
The advisors also report significant brown spot damage in the Sacramento Valley, particularly in Independence.
They say leaf-footed bug feeding is thought to account for much of that damage in the region.
A warm winter and very warm March may have encouraged earlier movement of adults from overwintering sites.
That possible explanation remains separate from the clearer delivery numbers.
Independence rejects increased, even as nonpareil rejects, and the regional total declined.
Another unresolved issue is kernel gumming, often at the tip of larger nuts.
The authors identify rapid nut growth during warm weather in late February and March as one possible explanation, with low boron potentially involved in some orchards.
They do not settle on a single cause.
For now, the August report gives growers a variety-specific comparison, while leaving the causes of some damage open for further discussion.
Sacramento Valley almond quality improved overall in August receipts, while independents moved in the opposite direction.
In an October 20 update, UC Cooperative Extension Orchard Systems Advisor Franz Niederholzer and UC IPM Advisor Sudan Ghiawali reviewed Almond Board of California figures showing total rejects at 1.70%, compared with 2.25% in August 2025.
That's a decline of 0.55 percentage points.
These are early delivery figures, not a final assessment of the region's 2026 crop.
The variety breakdown matters.
Nonpareil rejects fell from 2.4% in August 2025 to 1.6% this August.
Independence rejects rose from 1.7% to 2.2% over the same comparison.
Nonpareil accounted for roughly 75 to 80% of August volume in both years, so it represented most of the receipts behind the regional figures.
Together, Nonpareil and Independence made up more than 95% of August receipts in each year.
The overall improvement, therefore, does not describe every variety's experience.
Niederholzer and Giaouli say navel orangeworm pressure appears generally lower than in 2025.
They identify favorable sanitation weather early last winter, the absence of sustained summer heat, and active pest management as possible contributors.
Those are early explanations drawn from trap counts and discussions with growers and pest control advisors, not a measured breakdown of how much each factor changed rejects.
The authors caution that it is still too early to draw firm conclusions about quality for the entire season.
The advisors also report significant brown spot damage in the Sacramento Valley, particularly in Independence.
They say leaf-footed bug feeding is thought to account for much of that damage in the region.
A warm winter and very warm March may have encouraged earlier movement of adults from overwintering sites.
That possible explanation remains separate from the clearer delivery numbers.
Independence rejects increased, even as nonpareil rejects, and the regional total declined.
Another unresolved issue is kernel gumming, often at the tip of larger nuts.
The authors identify rapid nut growth during warm weather in late February and March as one possible explanation, with low boron potentially involved in some orchards.
They do not settle on a single cause.
For now, the August report gives growers a variety-specific comparison, while leaving the causes of some damage open for further discussion.
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