Latest News

The Fruit and Nut Research and Information Center is delighted to announce that we will be continuing our partnership with the National Clonal Germplasm Repository to offer several fruit tastings this year.

Registration is required to attend each tasting and spots are limited, so mark your calendars!

The first tasting will be of mulberry and early prunus varieties on June 14th.

Get the full list and register here!

A new nitrogen and potassium calculator is now available for almond growers, developed through a partnership with the Almond Board of California.

This tool is designed to help growers estimate how much nitrogen and potassium to apply and when to apply it, based on information about their orchard management practices and expected yield. The goal of the tool is to improve nutrient use efficiency and reduce unneeded applications. With nitrogen and potassium being some of the highest input costs for an almond grower, this management tool also aims to help lower unnecessary expenses.

The Principles of Fruit and Nut Tree Growth, Cropping, and Management course, also known simply as the FNRIC’s “Principles” course, will be hosted from March 9th - 13th, 2026.

Principles covers the basics of tree biology, with a focus on making business decisions for your orchard informed by plant physiology. Learn from experts in pomology at the University of California and participate in demonstrations at nearby teaching orchards. Key course topics include:

The UC Davis Fruit and Nut Center will have a booth at The Almond Conference 2025. Learn more about our course offerings, the services we provide to Californians, of just to say hi!

Eligibility
To be eligible for a 2026 Principles of Fruit & Nut Tree Growth, Cropping & Management Course Scholarship you must be:

On April 12, 2025, the FNRIC participated in the 65th UC Davis Picnic Day event. Picnic Day is an annual open-house event, where attendees have a hands-on opportunity to learn about the different majors and programs at UC Davis.  The Fruit and Nut Research and Information Center tabled right outside the Plant and Environmental Sciences Building, quizzing attendees on their knowledge of pomological science and offering pistachios, walnuts, pins, stickers, magnets, temporary tattoos, and more to those who answered correctly.

Join us for the Lake/Mendo Grapes and Olive Field Day:

Find out what the latest University of California Grapes and Olive research is.

Cultivars, Canopy Management, Diseases, Water Management, Fruit Fly, and so on.

Join us on this excellent opportunity to learn about the current north coast grape and olive situation and future perspectives.

Register here! https://surveys.ucanr.edu/survey.cfm?surveynumber=41167

Learn about the sample costs to produce walnuts, prunes, and strawberries at https://coststudies.ucdavis.edu/en/current/year/2022/

The sample costs in these guides can aid in making production decisions, determining potential returns, preparing budgets, and evaluating production loans. The guides will cover the estimated cost of pruning, irrigation, fertilizer, pest management, harvesting, and more! See page two on each guide for a table of contents.

Scholarship applications for the 2023 Principles of Fruit & Nut Tree Growth, Cropping & Management course are open now! The Fruit and Nut Research and Information Center will offer a limited number of scholarships for new and small-acreage Californian fruit-growers.

The Nitrogen and Potassium Prediction Model is now live on the Fruit and Nut Research and Information Center’s website! This robust tool will help growers determine the recommended amount of nitrogen and potassium needed to maximize productivity for pistachio trees. The tool allows users to predict their pistachio trees’ nitrogen & pistachio demand before the season begins. Users can also input leaf test results, if available, to increase the accuracy of their mid-season update.

The Pistachio Nut Growth Decision Support Tool is now available! This calculator was developed by researchers from UC Davis and the UC Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources.

Cost and Return Studies for many of California’s fruit, vegetable, field, tree and vine crops, and animal commodities are made available to the public through a joint effort between the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics (ARE) at the University of California, Davis and the University of California Division of Agricultural and Natural Resources (ANR).