01/09/2025
šØāš¾DFI Farmers Tips š”
This will be a new series we are starting to help inform Nevada growers about lessons we are learning at DFI throughout the season. Stay on the look out for more farmer tips as the year goes on!
Late fall is a great time to paint the trunks of young fruit trees.
In our climate, with cold winter nights and sunny days, young fruit trees are susceptible to Southwest trunk injury. During a sunny winter day, the bark on the south side of the treeās trunk warms substantially, which can cause dormant cells to become active. When temperatures drop at night, exposure to sub-freezing temperatures can injure these now-active cells. These cells are crucial to the treeās ability to uptake nutrients and water from the roots, and extensive injury can kill, or severely stunt and weaken, young fruit trees.
One approach to protecting young fruit trees is to paint the trunks with a 50-50 mixture of white exterior latex paint, and water. This moderates the daytime temperature of the trunk, and prevent cells from prematurely breaking dormancy. November is an ideal time to paint trunks (which should be repainted annually until the tree is mature), but itās better late than never.
Feel free to DM us with any questions about why this strategy is so important for any orchard manager this time of year.
