Winter is an active time of year for almond farming.  I know… you’d think that since the trees are dormant there wouldn’t be anything to do, but unfortunately that is not the case.  It is during the winter that pests like Navel Orange Worm, Scale and Peach Twig Borer are busy consuming any carbohydrates the tree or “mummy” almonds have to offer.  In the case of the Navel Orange Worm, it overwinters inside the hull and feeds on the almonds that did not release from the tree during harvest.  This rich source of protein and carbohydrates gives the larvae the energy it needs to pupate and become a moth (kinda like the caterpillar becoming a butterfly) and that adult moth then mates and lays more eggs that become larvae that then pupate into moths and… well you get the picture.  So what we do is shake the “mummies” from the tree and blow them into the middle of the lane and grind them up with a shredder then till them under.  Problem solved.

I count 5 mummie on this tree.  How many do you see?