UC Davis research: Too much water bad for California orchards
Rain is a good thing for farmers, but too much can cause problems. Following a wet and cool winter, fruit and nut growers throughout Northern California are seeing an increase in disease in their orchards. Researchers with UC Davis’ Plant Pathology Department say that there is a direct connection between the recent wetter-than-average season and more prevalent problems with fungi and viruses. … Hernandez Rosas said that as rain falls, it splashes and forces fine particles on the ground to lift into the air. Some of those particles are tiny viruses and fungi — pathogens — that can then get blown around by the wind. If those pathogens land on a susceptible crop, infection is possible.