Crop Intelligence Report: Carpophilus in Sac Valley Nuts, a New Rice Weed, Input Trials

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Two invasive pests moved closer to California fields this week: UC IPM confirmed the Carpophilus beetle in Sacramento Valley almond, pistachio and walnut samples, and CDFA funded a three-year plan for cotton seed bug before it reaches commercial cotton. UCCE’s fall rice newsletter adds a hard-to-spot weed showing up in more Butte and Colusa fields. On the agronomy side, 2026 UCCE trials tested what extra inputs actually return, with mixed results worth checking against your own blocks before 2027 budgets are set.

This week in numbers

• 455K: Acres of California rice planted in 2026, vs. an average near 500,000⁴
• $500K: CDFA’s three-year grant to build an IPM program for cotton seed bug²
• 0.3: Inches of statewide snow water on Nov. 6, 0% of normal for the date⁶

More Field Intel

The latest from our other weekly reports.

Weekly Tree Nut Report West Coast Nut · Nov 4
Phytophthora risk before a wet winter, dormant spur sampling, bees for Independence and a pistachio chill log. Read it

Produce & Row Crop Intelligence MyAgLife · Nov 4
Coachella bell peppers run late, rain halves strawberry shipments and processing tomato deliveries close. Read it

Citrus Intelligence MyAgLife · Nov 5
El Niño brings brown rot and gummosis back to the fall list, plus USDA’s planned citrus purchases. Read it

AgTech Intelligence Enterprise Ag · Nov 5
Driverless kits for the tractor you own, lessons from 16 automated orchards, spray drones and spot sprayers. Read it

Grape Intelligence MyAgLife · Nov 6
Sharpshooter finds near Modesto, winter weed control planning and wet-winter prep in coastal vineyards. Read it

Reg Watch MyAgLife · Tuesdays
Rules, comment deadlines and agency actions, every Tuesday. Read it

For PCAs: Pest Management

1. Carpophilus beetle confirmed in Sacramento Valley almond, pistachio and walnut samples

New this week · UC IPM, Sac Valley Orchards, Nov 2, 2026; Sacramento Valley almonds, pistachios, walnuts

UC IPM advisor Sudan Gyawaly reports that of several thousand Carpophilus beetles trapped in the Sacramento Valley, a small number were Carpophilus truncatus, the nut-feeding species, from two almond and two pistachio orchards. Beetles and larvae also turned up in walnut samples from the orchard floor of one well-managed Chandler block. There has been no widespread damage in the region yet.¹

First found in San Joaquin Valley almonds and pistachios in 2023, the beetle averages 2% to 5% damage in Australian almonds. Adults overwinter mostly in mummy nuts on the ground, and UC studies have found insecticides give limited control so far. The damage is easy to mistake for navel orangeworm: Carpophilus leaves fine, powdery frass with little webbing; navel orangeworm leaves brown frass and heavy webbing.¹

Next step: This winter, add Carpophilus to mummy-nut checks in almond, pistachio and walnut blocks: look for fine, powdery frass and small larvae, send suspect beetles or nuts to the UC IPM advisor, and map where mummies stay on the ground.

Source: UC IPM: Updates on invasive carpophilus beetle in the Sacramento Valley

2. Cotton: CDFA funds a three-year IPM program for cotton seed bug before it reaches the fields

New this week · CDFA, Nov 3, 2026; California cotton

CDFA awarded $500,000 through its Adaptive IPM for Invasive Agricultural Pests program to UC Riverside entomologist Mark Hoddle for a three-year project to build California’s first comprehensive IPM strategy for cotton seed bug in Bt and non-Bt cotton. CDFA describes the bug as established in urban areas and expanding toward key cotton-producing regions.²

Hoddle’s team wrote in Progressive Crop Consultant in January that the bug, first found in Los Angeles County in 2019, appears established in urban Orange, Riverside and San Diego counties but had not turned up in surveyed commercial cotton. Feeding can cut seed weight by about 15% and germination by up to 88%. It is black with a reddish abdomen and is often confused with the grayish-brown false chinch bug, which favors mustards.³

Next step: As the last fields are picked and stalks shredded, watch for small black bugs with reddish abdomens in open bolls, seed and field-edge weeds, and send suspects to UCCE or the county agricultural commissioner’s office for identification. Note which fields border urban plantings.

Sources: CDFA grant announcement · Progressive Crop Consultant: Cotton seed bug

3. Rice: a look-alike weed turns up in more Butte and Colusa fields, and Mexican rice borer edges closer

New this week · UCCE Rice Briefs, Nov 5, 2026; Sacramento Valley and Fresno County rice

UCCE rice advisor Whitney Brim-Deforest reports several more locations of white water fire (Bergia capensis) in late 2026, in Butte and Colusa counties. First found in Butte County in 2023, it looks so much like redstem (redberry) that advisors think it is far more widespread than known, and they are asking for suspected finds to map its extent.⁴

UCCE advisor Luis Espino says Mexican rice borer, a serious tiller-boring pest of rice in the southern U.S., is not present in the Sacramento Valley. Pheromone traps suggest it is now established on the east side of Fresno but has not reached commercial rice in Merced County.⁴

Next step: Over the winter, compare suspected redstem patches with photos of white water fire and note field and canal locations, so suspect plants can be reported to the local rice farm advisor in 2027. In Merced and Fresno county rice, keep Mexican rice borer on next season’s scouting list for blanked tillers.

Source: UCCE Colusa & Yolo: Rice Briefs, November 2026

Pesticide-use note: Current California labels, permit conditions and county requirements govern pesticide use. Verify them before making or changing a recommendation.

For CCAs: Agronomy

4. Rice: in a Delta trial, potassium cut late-season stem rot in a short planting year

New this week · UCCE Rice Briefs, Nov 5, 2026; Sacramento Valley and Delta rice

UC rice specialist Bruce Linquist’s season review puts 2026 California rice at 455,000 planted acres, against an average near 500,000, after early-May rain squeezed planting; half the crop was in by May 19, about a week late. Yield reports are mixed, and quality may be down after a hot September. Delta acreage kept growing, to an estimated 20,000 acres in San Joaquin County.⁴

In a replicated potassium trial beside the Delta variety trial, advisor Michelle Leinfelder-Miles found that added potassium raised leaf potassium at late tillering and reduced late-season stem rot in M-105 and M-210; aggregate sheath spot and yield did not improve. At-planting soil tests ran 76 to 87 ppm, in the 60 to 120 ppm range where UC work suggests potassium is likely to help. The results are preliminary, with a statistical report to come. Espino adds that stem rot can cut yields by up to 13%.⁴

Next step: Before winter fertility plans are set, pull soil-test potassium for rice fields with a stem rot history, especially in the Delta, and flag those under 120 ppm for a closer look. Watch for the full statistical report before changing a program.

Source: UCCE Colusa & Yolo: Rice Briefs, November 2026

5. Foliar inputs on trial: no gain in Colusa rice, a modest lift in Valley cilantro and bok choy

Research to apply · UCCE trials, 2026, one season each; Colusa County rice, San Joaquin County vegetables

In a replicated 2026 Colusa County trial, UCCE advisor Sarah Marsh Janish compared six commercial foliar nutrients and biostimulants, mostly seaweed, kelp or humic acid blends, with untreated plots. None raised yield, milling yield or head rice yield over the untreated check; she cautions it is one site and one year.⁴

UCCE Stanislaus advisor Zheng Wang tested a nitrogen-fixing bacterial biostimulant in the northern San Joaquin Valley. In an off-season cilantro trial near Tracy, the best treatment yielded 3.2 tons per acre and reached 55% canopy cover vs. 42% untreated. In bok choy near Modesto, with the same nitrogen on every plot, treated plots yielded slightly more and took up 15 to 20 more pounds of nitrogen per acre. Wang calls the first year a trend.⁵

Next step: Before 2027 budgets are set, ask for replicated California data behind any foliar or biological input a grower is weighing, and plan an untreated check strip in the same field for any on-farm test.

Sources: Rice Briefs: nutrient product trial · UCCE Stanislaus: Vegetable View, Fall 2026

Water dashboard

Reservoir storage at midnight Nov 5; snowpack as of Nov 6. Source: DWR, CDEC.⁶

Shasta	50% of capacity · 93% of the historical average
Oroville	42% of capacity · 81% of the historical average
Folsom	38% of capacity · 89% of the historical average
New Melones	63% of capacity · 117% of the historical average
San Luis	66% of capacity · 143% of the historical average
Millerton	43% of capacity · 99% of the historical average

Snowpack, statewide: 0.3 inches of snow water, 0% of the April 1 average and 0% of normal for the date (North 0%, Central 0%, South 0%). That is typical for early November: the snow season has barely started.⁶

Coming week watchlist

Nov 10 Statewide: USDA NASS Crop Production report, noon ET.⁷

Nov 10–11 Central Coast and statewide: Sustainable Ag Expo in San Luis Obispo, with CE hours for consultants.⁸

Nov 12 Statewide: NOAA’s monthly El Niño diagnostic discussion; October’s called a strong to very strong event likely through early 2027.⁹

Nov 13 San Joaquin Valley: Fresno Ag Expo, BIG Fresno Fairgrounds.¹⁰

Your next moves

Scout ground mummies in almond, pistachio and walnut blocks for fine, powdery Carpophilus frass, starting this week, from item 01. UC IPM

Read the full fall Rice Briefs, with the potassium and foliar trial details, before the winter rice grower meetings start Feb 16, from items 04 and 05. Rice Briefs

Register for the Sustainable Ag Expo in San Luis Obispo, Nov 10–11, for CE hours, from the watchlist. Sustainable Ag Expo

Editorial suggestions for field review, never a pesticide or product recommendation. In California only a licensed PCA can make a written pesticide recommendation.

What are you seeing?

Email info@jcsmarketinginc.com and tell us your crop, county and biggest field question.

We may take it up in a future edition.

Editorial note: Source findings are summarized above. The “Next step” passages are MyAgLife editorial suggestions for field review, not source-issued prescriptions. This report does not award CE credit.

Sources

1. Sudan Gyawaly, UC IPM Advisor, Sacramento Valley, Sac Valley Orchards (UCCE), “Updates on invasive carpophilus beetle in the Sacramento Valley,” November 2, 2026.
2. California Department of Food and Agriculture, Planting Seeds blog, “CDFA Awards $500,000 Through ‘Adaptive IPM for Invasive Agricultural Pests’ Grant Program,” November 3, 2026.
3. Mark S. Hoddle, Christina D. Hoddle and Theodore Adams, UC Riverside, Progressive Crop Consultant, “Cotton Seed Bug: An Emerging New Threat for California Cotton Growers,” January 26, 2026.
4. Sarah Marsh Janish (ed.), UCCE Colusa & Yolo Rice Program, “November 2026 – Rice Briefs Newsletter,” November 5, 2026 (PDF): articles by Bruce Linquist, Michelle Leinfelder-Miles, Luis Espino, Sarah Marsh Janish and Whitney Brim-Deforest.
5. Zheng Wang, UCCE Stanislaus County, “Vegetable View Fall 2026: 2026 Biostimulant Trial Update on Cilantro and Bok Choy,” November 4, 2026 (PDF).
6. California Department of Water Resources, CDEC, “Daily Reservoir Storage Summary,” ending at midnight November 5, 2026; and California Cooperative Snow Surveys, “Snow Water Equivalents,” November 6, 2026.
7. USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service, “Crop Production,” upcoming releases, accessed November 6, 2026.
8. Sustainable Ag Expo, “Sustainable Ag Expo,” San Luis Obispo, November 10–11, 2026, accessed November 6, 2026.
9. NOAA Climate Prediction Center, “ENSO Diagnostic Discussion,” October 8, 2026 (next discussion scheduled November 12, 2026).
10. Malcolm Media, “2026 Fresno Ag Expo,” November 13, 2026, BIG Fresno Fairgrounds, accessed November 6, 2026.