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March 11, 2016 CapitalPress.com Subscribe to our weekly California email newsletter at CapitalPress.com/newsletters California Beekeepers removing hives as almond blossom winds down By TIM HEARDEN Capital Press CHICO, Calif. — A quick and vibrant almond blossom in California is winding down, prompting beekeepers to re- move hives as growers antici- pate an abundant nut set. Warm and balmy after- noons in mid- to late February facilitated lots of bee activi- ty while making the blossom proceed more quickly, noted Bob Curtis, the Almond Board of California’s director of agri- cultural affairs. Now that even the latest va- rieties such as Butte and Padre almonds are in petal fall, some hives have been moved to stone fruit orchards as the ear- ly varieties of those crops have started to bloom, reports the National Agricultural Statistics 6HUYLFHRI¿FHLQ6DFUDPHQWR “We had in essence about two weeks rather than three IDOO WR DYRLG KDYLQJ EHHV À\ elsewhere to forage — and coming in contact with pesti- cides applied to other crops. ³7KH\ FDQ À\ XS WR IRXU miles,” Curtis said, adding that some growers are applying chemicals to tree fruit crops and alfalfa. Tim Hearden/Capital Press The precautions come after Bee boxes are deployed in an bee producers suffered devas- almond orchard at the California tating losses at the end of the State University-Chico farm in the almond blossom two years middle of blossom in mid-February. ago, when a mixture of fun- gicides used by almond grow- weeks” of full blossom, Cur- ers and insecticides applied to tis said. “During the daytime, ¿HOG FURSV SURYHG KDUPIXO WR WKHUHZHUHSOHQW\RIEHHÀLJKW both adult bees and broods. hours. … The other plus with This year’s blossom fol- this bloom is that we did lowed another tough winter for have very good overlap of beekeepers in terms of honey cross-compatible varieties.” bee die-offs, with some report- Under best-management LQJ VLJQL¿FDQW ORVVHV 6HYHUDO practices the group developed factors have been blamed for in 2014, the almond board has the latest deaths, including been urging beekeepers to re- signs that the varroa mite be- move their hives when most of lieved to cause many of the their latest variety is in petal deaths is developing a resis- )RU3DFL¿&RUSVHSDUDWHGDP UHPRYDOHQWLW\OHVVFRVWO\ULVN\ By TIM HEARDEN caps the company’s costs at $200 million, spokesman Bob Gravely said. )RU 3DFL¿&RUS VHWWLQJ XS By contrast, relicensing a separate entity to handle the the dams and keeping them removal of four dams from operating would cost more the Klamath River would be than $400 million just for cheaper and less risky for LPSURYHPHQWV VXFK DV ¿VK ratepayers than other options, ladders, plus any other costs the company’s spokesman for measures imposed by the says. California Water Resources The revised Klamath Control Board to obtain Clean Hydroelectric Settlement Water Act permits, he said. Agreement — under which Environmental groups would a “non-federal entity” would likely challenge the relicens- apply to the Federal Energy ing application in court, he Regulatory Commission to said. decommission the dams — )RU 3DFL¿&RUS WR VLPSO\ Capital Press 9 handle the decommissioning itself would cost about $292 million, according to govern- ment estimates. The third-par- ty entity would enable Pacif- iCorp to cap its costs while assuming liability and re- sponsibility for the facilities’ removal, Gravely said in an email. “So we have certainty in terms of cost and risk,” he said, “and have concluded that the KHSA is both less costly and less risky than re- licensing under our known terms and conditions or pur- suing removal on our own.” Meeting to raise citrus psyllid awareness in Northern Calif. By TIM HEARDEN Capital Press tance to treatments against it. Bee activity during the blossom was monitored close- ly by researchers from the nationwide Bee Informed Partnership, whose aim is to help beekeepers improve the strength of their hives, the Cal- ifornia Farm Bureau Federa- tion reported. So far, the feedback from many beekeepers to the al- mond board has been positive, Curtis said. Beekeepers are pleased with what they call their brood increase — the egg-laying and development of immature bees in hives — during the blossom, he said. Depending on the weather this spring and summer, the quick and early blossom could portend another early harvest. In 2015, many growers were wrapping up their harvest by Labor Day after a warm spring and summer helped accelerate the crop’s development. AUBURN, Calif. — While much attention has been paid to grappling with Asian citrus psyllids in the San Joaquin Valley, a meet- ing on March 22 will explore WKHSHVW¶VSRWHQWLDOUDPL¿FD- tions for Northern California growers. The state Citrus Pest and Disease Prevention Program will hold an afternoon work- shop at a community center in Auburn to advise the indus- try how to protect mountain mandarins and other citrus fruit from the encroaching threat of the psyllid, which can carry the tree-killing dis- ease huanglongbing. The workshop will em- phasize such precautions as inspecting vehicles that come from affected areas for “hitchhiking’ psyllids and brushing off all equipment and clothing when leaving groves, organizers say. “It’s a proactive meet- ing,” said Jessica Northrup, Courtesy of USDA ARS An adult Asian citrus psyllid is shown on a young citrus leaf. an outreach coordinator for the grower assessment-fund- ed state program. “A psyllid has not been found in that region, but we want to make sure if that happens that they know the best practices out in WKH¿HOG´ The workshop comes as California’s Asian citrus psyllid quarantine keeps growing and now covers nearly one-third of the state’s total land mass. 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