USDA Supports Production Research, Helping The Walnut Industry Thrive

Production research is critical for the success of plants for a number of reasons. The resulting data helps growers adjust to the needs of the plant environment and develop best practices to efficiently use water and energy, mitigate pest damage, minimize diseases, and improve productivity. The California Walnut Board, which funds production research across an entire spectrum of walnut needs, has used production research to increase the number of delicious, flavorful walnuts available on our tables.

The California Walnut Board operates under the authority of a federal marketing order, which is overseen by the USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) via its Marketing Order and Agreement Division (MOAD).  Federal marketing orders and agreements are requested for and funded by various groups in the U.S. produce industry to help growers and handlers within a geographic region to overcome marketing barriers and increase awareness of the commodity.

Another major success for the industry is the development of low-volume water-recovery systems for the precise application of water to the orchards, and plant-based measurement tools to check the walnut tree’s water level and time irrigation accordingly. Walnut Board Executive Director Dennis Balint lauded the board’s emphasis on developing innovative and ecologically-balanced irrigation practices for growers, including the important research discovery that unpruned trees use less water. The board is also funding research to evaluate walnut indicators for early season water management and root growth dynamics and constraints.

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