Field Evaluation of Almond Varieties - Results Through 6th Leaf

Phoebe Gordon, University of California Cooperative Extension (UCCE) Madera and Merced
Roger Duncan UCCE Stanislaus
Luke Milliron UCCE Butte, Glenn, and Tehama
Bruce Lampinen UC Davis
Tom Gradziel UC Davis

This article is also published in the September 2020 issue of West Coast Nut

*Y166-161-99 (Yorizanne) was initially misclassified as a Nonpareil when it is a California. Classification and cumulative payout have been updated.

University of California personnel have been involved with evaluating new fruit and nut crop varieties from public and private breeders for over 100 years.  These evaluations have always been done in partnership with commercial and public operators and we want to extend a heartfelt thank you to our cooperators for hosting these trials.  We also thank the Almond Board of California for funding important research into varieties for many years.

The most recent regional evaluations, sponsored by the Almond Board of California, were planted at three sites down the Central Valley in the winter of 2014.  The three locations were CSU Chico University Farm in Butte County, an orchard near Salida in Stanislaus County, and an orchard near Chowchilla in Madera County.  The three sites have different spacing and rootstocks (Table 1), depending on grower preferences and rootstocks that are typical in that area.  The trial was designed to allow statistical analyses of yield; each variety is planted in twelve-tree stretches and repeated four times at a site in a random order.  In other words, each site has 44 to 48 trees of each variety, split up into groups of four and randomly planted next to other varieties, with a Nonpareil row on either side. 

Table 1: Rootstocks and spacings of the regional almond variety trials by location
Location	Rootstock	Spacing	Trees per Acre
Butte	Krymsk 86	18’ x 22’	110
Stanislaus	Nemaguard	16’ x 21’	130
Madera	Hansen 536	12’ x 21’	173

Before reading further, it is important to understand the limitations of these regional variety trials.  This is a rigorous examination of traits like bloom timing, the initiation of hull split, and yield.  However, there are limitations related to evaluating dozens of different varieties in the same field.  The trees vary widely in size, shape, light interception, and yield resulting in different irrigation and fertilization needs.  Smaller-statured varieties may have lower yields compared to larger trees and may look better at a site with closer spacing.  Because our cooperators cannot economically perform different bloom and hullsplit sprays to ensure optimal coverage for each variety and fertilize each variety based on its yield, the varieties cannot be perfectly managed.  Traits like navel orangeworm (NOW) damage, though largely influenced by shell seal (which is a varietal trait) should be viewed with a grain of salt, as the nuts of a variety may remain on a tree a week longer than is ideal if there are not enough varieties ready to justify a harvest.  However, if certain issues are constant through all three sites, it is more likely to be an issue with the variety rather than the impossibility of perfectly managing all of the varieties. 

We always recommend that you use as much information as possible when deciding what variety to plant.  Evaluate UC variety trial data, as well as input from nursery representatives, handlers, neighbors, and your personal experience.  Some issues with new varieties may not appear for many years or until they are planted on a wider scale.  At this point in the trial, while we are looking for varieties that perform well, we are primarily identifying ones that have such major issues that they will not be acceptable for wide-scale planting.

Public and private breeders were invited to submit varieties they had released recently or were interested in releasing.  Independence and Shasta could not be included in the variety trials. Table 1 indicates which varieties are self-fertile or self-sterile. Self-fertility is when the flower is receptive to pollen from the same or a closely related variety, but some bees may still be needed to consistently get pollen from the anther to the stigma.  Self-sterile varieties (such as Nonpareil) require pollen from a different variety to set a commercially acceptable yield and added beehives during flowering to ensure cross-pollination. 

The trials were planted so that each row of pollinizers was adjacent to a row of Nonpareil.  Because of this, these variety trials cannot fully assess the yield potential of the partially or fully self-fertile varieties as if they were planted in solid blocks.  Due to the enormous amount of data this trial generates, we will present the accumulated data and note when a year may have had an exception. 

Table 2: Varieties in the trial. Varieties highlighted in green are standards
Variety	Breeder/Nursery		Variety	Breeder/Nursery
Self-sterile			Partially Self-fertile
Eddie	Bright's		Sweetheart	UC Davis
Supareil	Burchell		Winters	UC Davis
Sterling	Burchell
Booth	Burchell		Fully self-fertile
Capitola	Burchell		UCD1-232	UC Davis
Folsom	Dave Wilson		UCD1-271	UC Davis
Bennett	Duarte		UCD7-159	UC Davis
Jenette	Fowler		UCD8-160	UC Davis
Durango	Fowler		UCD8-201	UC Davis
Kester	UC Davis		UCD8-27	UC Davis
UCD18-20	UC Davis		Y116-161-99	USDA
UCD1-16	UC Davis		Y117-86-03	USDA
UCD3-40	UC Davis		Y117-91-03	USDA
Aldrich	N/A		Y121-42-99	USDA
Nonpareil	N/A
Wood Colony*	N/A
*Wood Colony was originally planted only at the Butte site; it was planted a year later at the Madera site.

Bloom data

We measure bloom progression by recording the dates of 1% bloom, full bloom (when 80% of the flowers are open) and the end of petal fall.  Varieties that are good pollinators for Nonpareil should overlap closely with it (tables 3 and 4), though many growers will plant other varieties that may bloom a bit before or after to account for unusual bloom conditions.  In most years, UCD 3-40 blooms much earlier than all other possible pollinators (Image 1), so yield data does not reflect the yield potential of this variety.

Image 1: Nonpareil (left) and UCD3-40 (right) at the Madera site in 2017.

Table 3: Full bloom timing of self-incompatible or partially self-compatible varieties, as compared to Nonpareil full bloom. The results are averaged from third through sixth leaf. The date of full bloom can vary considerably, and many varieties that have average bloom dates close to Nonpareil may fluctuate before or after Nonpareil full bloom. N/A indicates the variety is not present at a particular site. An * indicates when heavy rains in 2019 prevented entering the orchard to observe bloom status and the results are an average of 2016-2018. All varieties are planted on Hansen at the Madera site.
Bloom overlap of self-sterile almond varieties
	Number of Days Before (-) or After (+) Nonpareil Full Bloom
Variety/Selection	Butte	Stanislaus	Madera	Average
UCD 3-30	-8	-8	-13	-10
Wood Colony	-2*	N/A	-3	-3
Capitola	-2	-2	-1	-2
Winters	0	0	-2	-1
UCD 1-16	1	-1	-2	-1
Supareil	0	-1	-1	-1
Eddie	-1*	1	-2	-1
Nonpareil	-	-	-	-
Aldrich	1	1	-3	0
Jenette	-1	2	-2	0
Bennet-Hickman	+2*	-1	-1	0
Booth	1	1	-1	0
Sterling	2	-1	0	0
UCD 18-20	+3*	3	-4	1
Durango	1	1	1	1
Sweetheart	3	5	-3	2
Folsom	+6*	2	4	4
Kester	+5*	3	N/A	4
Kester on Hansen	+6*	4	3	5

Table 4: Full bloom timing of fully self-compatible varieties, as compared to Nonpareil full bloom. The results are averaged from third through sixth leaf. The date of full bloom can vary considerably, and many varieties that have average bloom dates close to Nonpareil may fluctuate before or after Nonpareil full bloom. N/A indicates the variety is not present at a particular site. An * indicates when heavy rains in 2019 prevented entering the orchard at the Butte trial to observe bloom status and the results are an average of 2016-2018.
Bloom overlap of self-fertile almond varieties
	Number of Days Before (-) or After (+) Nonpareil Full Bloom
Variety/selection	Butte	Stanislaus	Madera
UCD 8-27	-1	-2	-5
UCD 7-159	0	-1	-1
UCD 8-160	-1	-1	1
UCD 1-271	-1	3	-3
Nonpareil	-	-	-
UCD 1-232	1*	3	2
Y 116-161-99	3	2	1
Y 117-86-03	2*	4	2
Y 117-91-03	5	2	3
UCD 8-201	3*	3	6
Y-121-42-99	N/A	4	4

Disease, death, and other general observations

Gopher damage has been present at both the Butte and Madera sites. At the Butte site, gophers have particularly targeted the Hansen rooted trees (Kester on Hansen rootstock) and there have been many tree deaths.  Gopher girdling has killed several trees at the Madera site, where all trees have been planted on the Hansen rootstock, but deaths have been scattered across varieties and likely do not significantly affect yields.  Some diseases, such as bacterial blast, have occurred at several sites over several years (Table 5).

A more significant concern at the Madera site is a spot with poor drainage that has resulted in several tree deaths and poor establishment of replants, affecting Winters, UCD8-160, and Wood Colony.  The Madera site also has three different soil types that are resulting in vigor and hullsplit and harvest timing differences; trees in one soil type (a Class II soil) have the highest vigor and complete hullsplit several weeks after trees growing in a Class I and Class IV soil.  Trees growing in the Class I have intermediate vigor, and those in the Class IV have the lowest.  Hullsplit ratings are mostly relegated to trees in a single soil type, but the differences in hullsplit timing result in harvest delays for trees growing in the Class I and Class IV soil types. 

Table 5: Observed diseases by year.
Year	Site	Disease	Cultivars
2017	Butte	Bacterial spot	Booth , UCD 1-271, UCD 18-20
	Butte	Bacterial blast	Bennett-Hickman, Wood Colony, Y116-161-99
	Madera	Bacterial blast	not recorded
	Stanislaus	Band Canker	Nonpareil, Sterling, Kester on Hansen, Y121-42-99
2018	Butte	Bacterial spot	UCD 1-271
	Butte	Bacterial blast	not recorded
	Stanislaus	Hull rot caused by Rhizopus stolonifer	Supareil, 1-232, 8-201, 1-271, 3-40
	Stanislaus	Scab	Winters, UCD1-271
2019	Butte	Bacterial blast + Botrytis cinerera (pathogen   that causes jacket rot)	Bennett-Hickman, Booth, UCD 1-271
	Stanislaus	Bacterial blast	Bennett-Hickman, P16-013, UCD 1-271, Booth, Capitola, 8-27, Y116-161-99,   1-16, Eddie, Supareil, 3-40, Aldrich
	Madera	Bacterial blast + Botrytis cinerera (pathogen that causes   jacket rot)	Aldrich, Bennet, Capitola, Durango, Eddie, Folsom, Jennette, Nonpareil,   Supareil, UCD 18-20, UCD 1-271, UCD 7-159 Winters, Wood Colony, Y117-86-03,   Y121-42-99
	Madera	Hull rot (Rhizopus stolonifer and Aspergillus niger   isolated in 2018)	UCD1-232, Eddie, Nonpareil, Sterling, Folsom. Observed in past   years to also be severe on UCD8-201 and Bennett-Hickman

Image 2: Hull rot (induced by Rhizopus stolonifera) at the Madera variety trial site

In both 2017 and 2018, low hive strength likely reduced yields at the Butte site.  There was also a frost event in 2018 that affected both Madera and Butte.  At the Madera site, low temperatures on the 20th, 21st, and 24th reached 25, 28, and 24 degrees F, respectively.  At the Butte site, low temperatures on the 19th, 20th, 22nd, 23rd and 24th reached 26, 28, 29, 28, and 26 degrees F, respectively.  

Hull split

Knowing when a variety enters hullsplit is important for timing NOW sprays (Table 6).  The end of hullsplit (when the suture of all nuts has split open) indicates when the variety can be harvested.  The nuts must be protected from NOW between the initiation of hullsplit and harvest; varieties that are in hullsplit for more than 14 days may require a second spray, depending on the residual protection time of the product used.  It is wise to select pollinators for Nonpareil that have a hullsplit end date that does not overlap with Nonpareil.  Most processors offer lower prices for mixed nuts, and close harvest dates may increase the risk for mixing.  In 2018, the later maturing varieties at the Madera site were shaken earlier than desired.  This did not affect yield but did result in a loss of hullsplit data. 

Table 6: Average hullsplit start, end, and number of days in hullsplit. The beginning of hullsplit is defined as when 1% of the nuts have entered hullsplit, and the end date is when the last nut on the variety has split. Average duration spent in hullsplit is an average of all years and may not match the start and end dates listed. (1)varieties were knocked before hullsplit was completed in Madera in 2018 (2)varieties were knocked before hullsplit was completed in 2018 and 2019 (3)variety never entered hullsplit in Butte county. All varieties were planted on the Hansen 536 rootstock in Madera county.
	Butte			Stanislaus			Madera
	Average start	Average +/- NP	Average duration	Average start	Average +/- NP	Average length	Average start	Average +/- NP	Average length
Y117-91-03	7/13	-6	15	7/12	-7	13	7/10	-19	17
Y116-161-99	7/17	5	21	7/12	-3	16	7/9	-12	25
Eddie	7/15	-2	16	7/12	0	19	7/11	-7	27
Nonpareil	7/19	0	14	7/11	0	20	7/11	-1	33
Y121-42-99	N/A			7/17	-1	13	7/22	10	34
Kester	7/25	5	13	7/20	5	17	N/A
Folsom	7/21	7	20	7/19	8	20	7/19	4	30
Capitola	7/25	10	18	7/22	8	17	7/22	7	30
UCD8-201	7/24	9	18	7/22	11	20	7/24	6	28
Sterling	7/26	6	14	7/23	12	20	8/5	9	30
Wood colony	7/30	13	17	N/A			7/24	5	27
Sweetheart	7/28	15	21	7/24	10	17	7/28	3	21
Y117-86-03	7/29	12	16	7/28	12	16	7/27	7	25
UCD1-16	7/29	16	21	7/22	13	22	7/27	5	25
UCD1-271	7/29	10	15	7/23	13	20	7/14	14	43
Booth	7/23	8	18	7/25	12	19	7/25	20	40
Jeanette	7/29	24	29	7/30	20	21	7/20	-1	24
Bennett	7/28	11	16	7/30	21	22	7/24	12	33
Kester on Hansen	7/29	15	19	7/27	20	24	7/21	10	34
UCD7-159	7/31	19	22	7/30	17	18	7/27	14	32
UCD8-27	7/30	18	22	7/28	23	27	7/21	9	33
Aldrich	8/7	24	19	8/4	21	18	7/31	14	29
Durango	8/9	25	19	8/5	21	17	7/26	15	34
1Supareil	8/3	24	23	8/9	28	19	8/3	20	36
1UCD8-160	8/4	26	24	8/1	23	22	7/28	27	50
1,3Winters	8/4	33	31	8/5	27	22	8/9	25	33
UCD18-20	8/14	33	22	8/14	31	17	8/2	21	33
1UCD1-232	8/7	32	27	8/16	31	15	8/8	25	25
UCD3-40	8/11	37	28	8/17	32	15	8/12	24	29

Yields

Yields for the first four years are presented (Tables 7, 8, and 9).  We emphatically do not recommend basing variety selection on four years of yields. Some varieties do not start bearing heavily until maturity, while others do not show fatal flaws until maturity.  While the sites also have different spacings, this should not be used as a referendum on spacing, as there have been events that have negatively affected yields at certain sites.  The Butte site, for instance, has had low beehive strength, particularly in 2017 and 2018, likely reducing yields.  In 2017, the Stanislaus site suffered from a springtime drift injury of glyphosate and glufosinate which damaged trees and reduced yields.  Many trees of some varieties have been killed from band canker as well (Table 5).  Early yields are unreliable when determining ultimate yield potential, so we have not yet dropped varieties based on low yields.

Photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) is the percentage of light interception a variety captures.  It has been found to correlate with yield potential, especially at sites that do not have other significant disease or management issues.  PAR can be taken as an indication of vigor during establishment years, however as discussed below, high vigor and high PAR interception do not necessarily translate to higher yields. 

We are using yield/PAR as an indicator of tree efficiency, or how many pounds of nuts trees produce per percent canopy cover.  We are presenting the 2017-2019 average for this variable as another indicator of a variety’s yield potential.  A tree that is naturally small but yields well for its size may look worse than a larger tree when looking at yearly or cumulative yield but may have similar yield/PAR values.  That small tree may perform better when spaced more closely.  Additionally, the industry is exploring off ground-harvest technologies to reduce dust.  Orchards that already use off-ground harvesting technology perform better when trees are smaller.  In these systems, small trees with high yield/PAR values may be valuable.   Low yield/PAR can also indicate an issue during bloom, such as excessively wet conditions, severe bacterial blast, or frost events, thus it is important to examine several years of data.

Table 7: Yield data from 2016 to 2019. Cumulative payout based on yearly prices for estimated classification of kernels.
Yield   Summary of varieties planted on Krymsk 86, Butte County
Varieties	2016   Yield (lbs/ac)	2017 Yield (lbs/ac)	2018 Yield (lbs/ac)	2019 Yield (lbs/ac)	Cum. Yield (lbs/ac)	Classification	$   2016 - 2019 Payout, high	$ 2016   - 2019 payout, low	2019 Canopy PAR (%)	2017-2019 yield/PAR average
UCD   1-271	159	405	1037	870	2472	CA	$5,838.30		54	16.9
Supareil	308	773	676	2071	3810	Nonpareil	$10,297.99		79	16.8
Sweetheart	315	526	1486	1801	4128	CA	$9,758.84		74	18.8
UCD 3-40	342	284	504	2816	4396	Carmel	$9,705.48		72	18.2
UCD   7-159	211	1019	1121	2114	4464	CA	$10,521.05		61	24.9
Sterling	336	1005	1645	1828	4732	Sonora   / CA	$12,282.47	$11,333.50	68	24.0
UCD   8-27	507	1105	1677	1790	5079	CA	$11,913.75		67	26.3
Kester/Hansen	609	1060	1763	1785	5217	Padre   / Carmel	$12,701.10	$12,207.24	65	23.4
UCD   1-232	712	1941	881	1819	5281	CA	$12,404.51		58	29.9
UCD   1-16	556	964	1854	1947	5300	Sonora   or Carmel	$13,555.75	$12,914.86	66	26.8
Eddie	447	1090	2028	1748	5314	Nonpareil   / Sonora	$14,297.57	$13,564.38	63	27.7
Wood   Colony	419	1382	1548	1989	5338	Wood   Colony	$12,517.92		53	34.5
Bennett	291	902	2278	1958	5391	Nonpareil   / CA	$14,563.23	$12,832.65	67	31.4
Y117-86-03	460	932	2264	1846	5503	Carmel	$13,465.29		67	28.3
Capitola	455	1500	1315	2461	5611	CA	$13,434.89		79	23.8
Kester   (2-19e)	649	1114	1892	2006	5662	Padre   / Carmel	$13,792.48	$13,256.96	72	25.3
Folsom	523	1583	1605	2016	5785	CA	$13,396.72		73	26.9
Y116-161-99	529	823	2669	1811	5833	California*	$13,755.94		56	34.8
UCD   8-201	517	1405	2168	1842	5933	Nonpareil   / CA	$15,998.62	$13,917.37	62	33.5
UCD   8-160	670	1604	1941	1808	6127	Wood   Colony	$14,070.20		49	42.8
Winters	469	1902	657	3002	6168	Carmel	$14,639.60		71	29.2
Durango	390	1271	2440	2086	6188	CA	$14,579.84		69	31.3
Aldrich	316	1031	3265	2024	6636	CA	$15,705.97		65	37.2
Y117-91-03	481	1500	2779	1878	6638	CA	$15,604.76		74	30.9
Jenette	271	1524	2555	2505	6855	Mission   / CA	$16,172.41	$15,504.91	57	43.1
UCD 18-20	717	1904	2648	2368	7666	Monterey	$17,895.61		71	35.3
Booth	796	1982	2344	2613	7736	CA	$18,097.49		71	35.8
Nonpareil	447	2085	2846	2999	8376	Nonpareil	$22,601.10		74	38.8

Table 8: Yield data from 2016 to 2019. Cumulative payout based on yearly prices for estimated classification of kernels. At the time of writing this article, 2019 prices were not available, thus 2018 prices were used.
Yield summary of varieties planted on Nemagard rootstock, Stanislaus County
Varieties	2016 Yield (lbs/ac)	2017 Yield (lbs/ac)	2018 Yield (lbs/ac)	2019 yield (lbs/ac)	Cum. Yield (lbs/ac)	Classification	$   2016 - 2019 Payout, high	$   2016 - 2019 payout, low	2019 Canopy PAR (%)	2017-2019 yield/PAR average
UCD   8-27	178	907	1601	1062	3748	CA	$8,825.23		51	25
UCD   3-40	133	1016	1365	1341	3856	Carmel	$9,426.95		55	24
Supareil	53	1042	1130	1968	4047	Nonpareil	$11,310.10		60	25
UCD   1-16	357	1223	1354	1295	4228	Sonora   or Carmel	$10,807.78	$10,228.96	45	31
Sweetheart	178	936	1612	1554	4281	CA	$10,100.87		62	24
Jenette	120	1396	1458	1322	4296	Mission   / CA	$10,086.35	$9,671.90	46	31
Eddie	309	1285	1827	964	4385	Nonpareil   / Sonora	$11,871.88	$11,222.86	55	27
Folsom	281	1241	1316	1573	4411	CA	$10,345.47		49	28
UCD   1-271	86	1234	1613	1630	4562	CA	$10,755.46		50	31
UCD   1-232	225	1404	1498	1646	4773	CA	$11,204.56		46	33
UCD   8-201	123	1569	1549	1660	4900	Nonpareil   / CA	$13,286.45	$11,511.79	43	38
Nonpareil	175	1408	2043	1377	4999	Nonpareil	$13,528.39		45	40
Capitola	123	1365	2262	1284	5034	CA	$11,860.85		55	32
Durango	159	1467	1825	1495	5046	CA	$11,625.92		47	36
Sterling	54	1465	2003	1447	5062	Sonora   / CA	$12,720.81	$11,707.24	52	33
Aldrich	162	1675	2331	1480	5064	CA	$13,278.99		46	42
Winters	195	1544	2136	1341	5216	Carmel	$12,726.31		42	37
Y117-86-03	213	1536	2033	1465	5247	Carmel	$12,801.27		43	39
Booth	128	1550	2226	1498	5402	CA	$12,716.15		57	32
Y121-42-99	373	1411	2336	1356	5476	CA	$12,855.82		43	37
UCD   7-159	40	1417	2246	1780	5483	CA	$12,950.86		44	41
Bennett	334	1473	2321	1442	5570	Nonpareil   / CA	$15,047.47	$13,081.85	50	37
Y116-161-99	325	1437	2107	1739	5608	California*	$13,180.28		43	41
Kester	321	1648	1818	1618	5612	Padre   / Carmel	$13,153.64	$12,654.37	50	36
UCD   8-160	224	2058	2006	1992	6280	Wood   Colony	$14,729.46		40	50
Y117-91-03	218	1918	2172	1763	6419	CA	$14,248.85		60	34
UCD   18-20	262	1971	2368	2121	6722	Monterey	$15,781.76		52	44
Kester/Hansen	345	1600	2614	2630	7287	Padre   / Carmel	$17,596.01	$16,935.24	66	37

Table 9: Yield data from 2016 to 2019. Cumulative payout based on yearly prices for estimated classification of kernels. At the time of writing this article, 2019 prices were not available, thus 2018 prices were used.
Yield   summary of varieties planted on Hansen 536 rootstock, Madera County
Varieties	2016   Yield (lbs/ac)	2017   Yield (lbs/ac)	2018   Yield (lbs/ac)	2019   yield (lbs/ac)	Cum.   Yield (lbs/ac)	Classification	$   2016 - 2019 Payout, high	$   2016 - 2019 payout, low	2019   Canopy PAR (%)	2017-2019  yield/PAR average
UCD   3-40	577	708	236	507	1923	Carmel	$4,816.14		77	7
UCD   1-271	409	1137	1268	462	3176	CA	$7,605.02		80	13
Wood   Colony	49	675	1527	2088	3262	Wood  Colony	$10,305.51		67	25
UCD   1-232	954	1490	1051	1890	5035	CA	$12,487.82		69	24
UCD   7-159	775	1465	1490	2306	6036	CA	$14,094.26		72	27
Supareil	1010	1791	800	2468	6069	Nonpareil	$16,442.49		88	22
UCD   8-27	1145	1022	2059	1846	6072	CA	$14,154.91		74	24
Durango	1415	1827	1570	1406	6218	CA	$14,327.11		77	25
Sterling	1112	1889	1479	2285	6764	Sonora   / CA	$17,258.49	$15,703.44	88	25
Aldrich	1724	1413	1907	1819	6863	CA	$15,859.67		79	25
Folsom	1052	1818	1437	2668	6974	CA	$16,231.33		91	24
UCD   1-16	1469	1647	1275	2741	7132	Sonora   or Carmel	$18,156.39	$16,998.58	69	32
UCD   8-160	964	1596	2362	2280	7201	Wood Colony	$16,828.25		60	39
Winters	1369	2066	340	3521	7295	Carmel	$17,560.03		71	32
UCD   8-201	1310	1671	2644	1770	7395	Nonpareil   / CA	$19,939.69	$17,198.89	64	35
Eddie	1262	2167	2156	1824	7409	Nonpareil   / Sonora	$20,070.23	$18,944.78	84	29
Sweetheart	1429	1210	1997	2833	7468	CA	$17,411.43		79	27
Bennett	1770	1977	2800	1021	7568	Nonpareil   / CA	$20,467.06	$17,462.36	72	31
Booth	1857	2247	1137	2536	7776	CA	$17,901.75		89	25
Y-121-42-99	1533	1758	2675	1981	7946	CA	$18,457.43		83	30
Capitola	1781	2190	1124	2925	8020	CA	$18,513.66		89	26
Jenette	1644	1783	2481	2200	8107	Mission   / CA	$18,813.36	$18,036.90	67	36
Nonpareil	1349	2379	2327	2429	8442	Nonpareil	$22,961.35		87	34
Y-117-91-03	1427	2042	2872	2124	8465	CA	$19,687.13		68	37
Kester/Hansen	1783	1840	2407	2467	8497	Padre   / Carmel	$20,490.38	$19,654.31	78	32
Y-117-86-03	1995	1807	3483	1896	9180	Carmel	$22,147.73		65	40
UCD   18-20	1680	2226	3227	2434	9566	Monterey	$22,294.29		68	43
Y-116-161-99	1804	2604	3056	2716	10278	California*	$23,635.23		70	44

Defects

Defect data includes horticultural (double kernels, twin kernels) and insect issues (NOW damage).  Due to the difficulty in adequately protecting all the varieties with different hullsplit dates, issues such as NOW damage should be viewed with a grain of salt, though those that have consistently high damage across a site may be of concern.  Three UCD selections, 18-20, 8-201, and 1-16 have high rates of double kernels across all sites, and UCD 3-40 and 8-27 had high rates of doubles across all three sites.  The threshold of reporting varieties with defects greater than 6% has no significance; this threshold was chosen to simplify the results. 

Table 10: 2019 defects by site. The 6% threshold only serves as a cutoff point to make viewing the data easier and has no horticultural significance.
	Trial
Varieties with defect	Butte	(%)		Stanislaus	(%)		Madera	(%)
6% or more double kernels	UCD18-20	29		UCD 18-20	20		UCD 18-20	19
	UCD 8-201	18		UCD 1-16	13		UCD 8-27	15
	Wood Colony	18		UCD 8-201	13		UCD 8-201	13
	Durango	13		UCD 8-27	12		Booth	10
	Aldrich	10		Capitola	6		P16.013	8
	UCD 8-27	10
	Booth	9
	UCD 1-16	9
	UCD 8-160	8
	UCD 3-40	8
6% or more twin kernels (two kernels within the same pellicle)	Nonpareil	15		UCD 3-40	14		UCD 3-40	17
	Folsom	13		Sweetheart	13		UCD 8-27	13
	UCD 3-40	13		UCD 8-27	11		Jennette	7
	Sweetheart	12		Folsom	9		UCD 8-201	7
	UCD 8-27	12		UCD 1-232	7
	Jenette	12
	UCD 7-159	10
	UCD 8-201	6
6% or more chipped/broken	UCD18-20	8
6% or more crease	Y117-86-03	15		Sterling	8		UCD 8-160	15
	UCD 8-160	13		Jenette	6		Sterling	10
	Sterling	12		Durango	6		Sweetheart	8
	Capitola	11					Jennette	8
	Jenette	10					Capitola	7
	Folsom	9					UCD 1-232	6
	UCD1-232	8					Folsom	6
	Wood Colony	7
	Durango	7
	Eddie	6
6% or more shrivel	UCD 8-201	7					Folsom	8
	Capitola	7
	Y117-86-03	6
6% or more NOW damage	UCD 8-27	6			0			0

Conclusions

These trials are ongoing and will continue for a few more years.  At this point we can eliminate some new selections with issues that make them unsuitable for commercial production.  On the other hand, there are some commercial and experimental varieties that appear to be high performers and are worth exploring further.  New regional trials will be established in the future to continue the search for high quality, high yielding varieties, with a special emphasis for those that are self-fertile.