Trees and People

Bill Pramuk

Certification: A Sign of Professional Standing

Working my way through life in the 1970’s and 80’s, I felt the need to find work I could feel was not  just a job.  I wanted a profession.  Retail and wholesale nursery work had been  good for me and my growing family, but I wanted to move up to a new level.

Then I heard from a coworker - a wholesale nursery salesman who had several years of experience as a tree worker - that my work experience would qualify me to apply for Certified Arborist status with ISA, the International Society of Arboriculture.

It was just the thing I had been looking for.  My professional role model at the time was a renowned horticultural consultant with an encyclopedic knowledge of trees and plants of all sorts and an amazing grasp of their problems, pests, and diseases.  I wanted to be like him and now I had clear step to take in that direction.

So, I contacted ISA, requested a certification study guide and started in earnest:  investing in reference books, studying, and even learning the ropes and knots from my arborist friend.  (Candidates for Certified Arborist standing don’t  have to climb trees or run chainsaws to get certified, but  some essential knowledge is necessary in those areas).

Within a few months of study and with a well established knowledge of trees for the tree identification portion I felt ready.

I took the exam and passed all of the sections on the first try. To me, the certificate was my “shingle”; my sign of professional standing. It has served me well over the years and I feel it is necessary for me to  serve the profession in some way beyond my daily  professional practice.

Not inclined to seek office on a regional  level  - ISA has regional “Chapters” and I’m a member of the Western Chapter - I’ve still felt the nudge to do something extra for the profession.

Then, last year, a tree service crew leader asked me if there is a class to help candidates to prepare for the Certified Arborist exam. He had the necessary experience and  much of the basic knowledge, but  felt that an organized class would help to get him on track and get ready for the exam.

Bingo.  I realized that there was no such class, locally at least, and it would be a good way for me to give something back to the profession: teach a class on Arboriculture.

Coincidentally, within a few days of this exchange, I received a catalogue from Napa Valley Adult Education,  a division of the Napa Valley Unified School District. Scanning the  classes currently offered I could see that a Certified Arborist preparation class should fit in well.

So a new venture began.  I contacted NVAE, found that they liked the idea and began working on it.  With their generous help and guidance, I applied for and received a Preliminary Career Technical Education  (CTE) teaching credential and designed the course.

As of the NVAE Open House on April 26, the course, Arboriculture: Preparing for Certification, is public knowledge and scheduled to begin on August 27.

Running for 10 weeks - 2 hours every Monday night - the course will be open to the general public, with emphasis on experienced tree workers,  maintenance gardeners, nursery professionals and avid gardeners who are interested in achieving the status of Certified Arborist.  The official exam itself is not included in the class.

If that sounds interesting to you, call NVAE at 253-3729 for more information or visit online:  www.adulted.nvusd.k12.ca.us

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Volunteers are needed for the Napa Sudden Oak Death Blitz day, next Saturday, May 12.  If you are interested, just come to the introductory session, 9:00 AM, UCCE classroom, 1710 Soscol Avenue.

(Bill Pramuk is a certified arborist and registered consulting arborist.  Visit his website www.billpramuk.com.  Email questions to info@billpramuk.com or call him at 707-226-2884)

Trees and People
Bill Pramuk

Time to Work With Citrus

Now that we are well into Spring and the last frost, we hope, has passed, this is a good time to work with Citrus trees.

Because of its subtropical nature, Citrus is best left undisturbed through the winter.  An established  Citrus tree with a full canopy of mature foliage and growing on a moist, well-drained site tends to have  good potential for success.  In contrast, Citrus that is newly transplanted, poorly drained or drought stressed, or covered with tender new growth tends to be more susceptible to winter freeze damage.

Cold-hardy fruit trees, such as apple, pear and plum have a true dormant period.  As a result of adaptation to cold-winter climates, they actually require chilling every winter before they can break dormancy and grow vigorously in spring. In contrast, Citrus just slows growth when the days are shorter and temperatures are lower.

Cold-hardiness, growth habit and productivity varies with the type of Citrus and local microclimates but a few principles and management practices can be applied in general make a world of difference.

While cold-hardy fruit trees respond well to  moderate to heavy dormant season pruning plus some summer pruning, Citrus responds and produces best when pruned  for light thinning in spring through mid summer.

Citrus produces flowers on shoots that grew during the previous year, so pruning should  retain plenty of one year old shoots while removing the very crowded branches.  This type of pruning - “thinning” - moderates the amount of fruit the tree bears and it has an additional benefit: a moderate increased in space among the branches and sunlight reaching the inner canopy makes conditions less favorable to Citrus pests like scale and snails.

Citrus has the ability to sprout from bare branches.  When limbs break, are pruned back to stubs or severely damaged by a hard freeze they tend to generate numerous sprouts near wounds.  But these soft new shoots are frost tender and easily dislodged from the branch.  Because limb sprouts and  other new shoots are frost tender it is best to avoid heavy late summer pruning as well as late summer fertilizer applications with Nitrogen that stimulates soft green growth.  New growth should have time to mature before winter.
A couple of recent incidents point to the importance of what’s going on below ground.  In one case, a sudden yellowing of the entire canopy of a Tangelo was mysterious until a simple root collar excavation and exam revealed that a gopher had eaten the bark off the base of the trunk.  In the other instance, similar symptoms were caused by root disease resulting from  poor drainage.

As described in the “How to Grow Citrus” article in The New Sunset Western Garden Book (2012), “Fast drainage is essential.  If soil drains slowly, don’t attempt to grow Citrus in it regardless of how you condition it.  Instead, plant above soil level in raised beds or on a soil mound.”

If you have Citrus trees showing health problems you might want to check out the following link, where you can see photos of symptoms:

http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/C107/m107bpleaftwigdis.html

As it is with so many other subjects, the closer you look, the more a world of fine detail opens up.  Citrus has its own world of cultivated varieties, rootstocks, care practices, and pests and diseases.

In spite of the potential challenges, home-grown Citrus  can be very rewarding.  Right now is a good time to get ready for planting.

(Bill Pramuk is a registered consulting arborist.  Visit his website, www.billpramuk.com, email questions to info@billpramuk.com call him at 226-2884 or visit Bill Pramuk Consulting Arborist on Facebook.)

Trees and People

Bill Pramuk

2012 Sudden Oak Death Blitz May 12

“2011 was a bad year for our oaks”, said Matteo Garbelotto, Director of the UC Berkeley Forest Pathology and Mycology Lab, in reference to prolonged spring rains that resulted in a significant spread of the Sudden Oak Death (SOD)  pathogen in California.

Increased outbreaks were evident in areas that were previously affected, like Marin and Sonoma and new areas like the East Bay and Carmel Valley, Garbelotto wrote in a recent announcement.

Napa, included for the first time last year in the SOD Blitz - a cooperative effort of local volunteers and Matteo’s lab at UC Berkeley - had over 30 positive infection sites scattered around the county.

Referring to 2011 as a “wave year” for this devastating disease, Dr. Garbelotto explained that most of the spread of SOD occurred after the 2011 Blitzes were conducted in spring.  Indeed, the day of the Napa Blitz, June 4, conditions were just  about ideal  for the disease to spread: It poured an inch of rain and the temperature rose to 63F.

So, while we volunteers were out collecting samples, new infections were in progress.  Those are the ones we’ll be scouting for on May 12 when we meet for an hour in the morning and then head out to collect samples.

In his recent announcement Matteo said the general public is invited to become involved by joining the group of hundreds of citizen scientists who have been helping for the past four years by participating in local SOD Blitzes.  This year, with renewed funding by the US Forest Service, the effort  will be expanded to determine not only the geographical distribution of the disease but local infection rates as well.  That means a more orchestrated approach to sampling, so volunteers are needed more than ever.

Volunteers attend a one-hour local training, obtain SOD collection packages, and then collect symptomatic California bay laurel leaves in the 48 hours following the training.  Samples are processed at Berkeley and results are posted on an interactive web-available map on October 1.

Volunteers are requested not to collect samples before the training session, because sampling must follow a precise but simple protocol.

Garbelotto’s announcement states “Whether you have already participated in a SOD Blitz, or it is your first time, California oaks need you:  residents with confirmed local SOD infections in their neighborhood can protect their trees from becoming infected.  Training sessions on how to manage SOD are offered monthly at U.C. Berkeley, and weekly during the Fall in various California locations.

The main reasons to participate in a 2012 SOD- Blitz include:

SOD changes distribution every year.
2011 was a major year (a “wave” year) for SOD spread, most of the spread occurred after the 2011 Blitzes were conducted.
Years following a “wave” year are also conducive to the spread of SOD. Hence, the lab predicts the pathogen will spread further in 2012.

A list with times and locations of 2012 SOD Blitzes in all of the participating counties is available on the lab website:  www.matteolab.org

The Napa SOD Blitz  begins Saturday,  May 12, 9:00AM with the 1 hour training session at the UCCE office, 1710 Soscol Avenue.

Volunteers may contact me in advance, or just show up. Please join us in this important effort.

(Bill Pramuk is a registered consulting arborist.  Visit his website www.billpramuk.com, send questions to info@billpramuk.com, call him at 707-226-2884 or visit Bill Pramuk consulting arborist on Facebook.)