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Benefits to the California walnut industry due to Joe Grant’s work and collaboration are many.
From a 30-year career as a UCCE farm advisor to a decade as director of research for the California Walnut Board (CWB), Grant’s work sought solutions for a myriad of challenges faced by walnut growers.
With the announcement that Grant will retire from his position with the CWB, farm advisor and walnut research colleagues have been quick to point out his efforts to sustain the walnut industry.
“He was open to other opinions when it came to problem solving,” said fellow UCCE farm advisor Katherine Jarvis-Shean. “He was that connection between academics and growers.”
Walnut grower and processor Bill Carriere noted that Grant was a staunch supporter of farm advisors and with the CWB was effective in prioritizing grower research needs.
“Even when there was a downturn in the market, that did not deter his efforts to keep research going in crown gall resistance and blight control,” Carriere said. He highlighted Grant’s rootstock trials and ongoing research with stacking gene-edited traits as a positive for future growth in the walnut industry.
Brent Barton, walnut grower and chair of the CWB’s Production and Postharvest Research Committee, noted efficient use of grower dollars was always top of mind for Grant.
Joe has helped bridge the gap between the research community and the grower community for decades. — Brian Mori
“He wanted a good return on the growers’ investment in the research program,” Barton said.
Walnut grower Don Norene noted that Grant worked successfully with three different CWB executive directors.
“He is an excellent listener to growers, researchers and CWB staff,” Norene said. “He worked diligently to keep things moving for the grower part of the industry.”
Brian Mori, director of field services for Crain Ranches, said Grant’s inquisitive nature has always stimulated much-needed debate in the industry in finding projects that can actually benefit growers in a practical sense.
“Joe has helped bridge the gap between the research community and the grower community for decades,” he added.
Robert Verloop, executive director and CEO of the California Walnut Board and Commission, said Grant is well known for his disciplined approach to problem solving and willingness to explore new cultural practices and emerging technologies to help walnut growers produce high-quality crops.
“Growers today, as well as future generations, will benefit from his deep understanding of farm management and commitment to applying sound science-based research to address challenges and opportunities,” Verloop added.
UC Davis walnut breeder Chuck Leslie calls Grant the premier farm advisor for his generation.
Leslie noted Grant’s work in rootstock trials to determine selections that were resistant to phytophthora.
Great strides in walnut genetics were made during Grant’s tenure, Leslie said. He also commended the walnut industry for its willingness to jump in and invest in that research. He said it was Grant’s rootstock trial comparing the selection RX-1 with seedling rootstock that determined its resistance to phytophthora.
Leslie said Grant ran a trial “in a swamp” to compare the RX-1 with seedling rootstocks for phytophthora resistance. After a few years of monitoring the trees on RX-1, the rootstock had a high rate of survival while most of the seedling trees died. The trial proved RX-1 was worth releasing, Leslie said.
Practical Input
Grant’s practical input when it came to research proposals was highlighted by several former colleagues, including former UCCE farm advisor Janine Hasey, who served on the CWB’s Production Research Advisory Council (PRAC) with Grant from its inception in 2005. The PRAC was tasked with evaluating research proposals in the areas of genetics, orchard management, entomology and pathology. According to Hasey, Grant’s experience on the PRAC prepared him to assume the leadership role as CWB research director with a solid understanding of its purpose. As research director, he was instrumental in guiding the PRAC to identify and prioritize walnut research needs.
Leslie said Grant’s evaluations of research proposals, advising the PRAC while listening to grower needs and providing practical input for researchers, resulted in many advances for the walnut industry.
Grant is much more modest about his work but did note some highlights in his career. He said one of the first challenges he encountered as a new farm advisor was pistillate flower abscission (PFA), a production problem where nutlets were dropped shortly after fruit set.
Advancing Walnut Research
Grant was part of a team that set out to understand and document the walnut varieties susceptible to PFA and moved on to managing and determining rates of application of the plant growth regulator RETAIN.
“A lot of people worked on it,” Grant said. “Early on, nobody knew what caused this. All kinds of things were tried and failed. Finally, Vito Polito, who was then a professor at UC Davis, figured out it was too much pollen.”
Codling moth damage to walnut crops was another challenge at the time. Insecticide use was increasing and growers were looking for ways to reduce the number of sprays while protecting their crops. Mating disruption was a technique that was evolving at the time, and Grant was involved in early work to determine pheromone rates and distribution in an orchard.
“We tried all kinds of crazy applications, including sprays, aerosols and twist ties, to see what worked,” Grant said. “That put mating disruption on the map as an effective and reasonable-cost program.”
This move toward more integrated pest management (IPM) also led to Biologically Integrated Orchard Systems. Grant said UCCE worked with Community Alliance with Family Farmers to implement demonstration and research trials in walnuts in an IPM program focused on walnut production systems targeting important walnut pests. This approach, Grant said, was aimed at reducing pesticide use, promoting cover cropping and other practices that became forerunners of regenerative agriculture.
Grant was instrumental in starting the Production Research Advisory Council in 2005, which involved both growers and researchers to identify pathways to solving walnut production challenges. The council, he said, brought strategic thinking for the long term and monitored progress of research projects.
When he moved to CWB in 2016, Grant admitted he had big shoes to fill, replacing Dave Ramos in the early days of genomics research.
Grant said the walnut industry is to be commended for its willingness to jump in and invest in that research, which has continued to pay dividends for growers and processors alike.
Verloop noted the CWB is deeply grateful for Grant’s contributions, insights, intellectual curiosity and longstanding dedication to the California walnut industry.
Cecilia Parsons | Associate Editor
Cecilia Parsons has lived in the Central Valley community of Ducor since 1976, covering agriculture for numerous agricultural publications over the years. She has found and nurtured many wonderful and helpful contacts in the ag community, including the UCCE advisors, allowing for news coverage that focuses on the basics of food production.
She is always on the search for new ag topics that can help growers and processors in the San Joaquin Valley improve their bottom line.
In her free time, Cecilia rides her horse, Holly in ranch versatility shows and raises registered Shetland sheep which she exhibits at county and state fairs during the summer.