Californian almond researchers Prof. Astrid Volder, Prof. Greg Browne and Dr Maciej Zwieniecki are hitting the road after the Australian Almond Conference and will be visiting the Riverland, Sunraysia and the Riverina regions to meet with growers.
This is your opportunity to discuss issues relevant to your orchard and growing region. Come along with questions.
RESEARCHER BIOGRAPHIES:
Dr. Astrid Volder is a Professor in the Department of Plant Sciences at the University of California, Davis. Her research focuses on root biology and whole plant physiology in perennial production systems, with recent work investigating root production dynamics, lifespan, and coarse root architecture in almond and pear orchards in response to irrigation, canopy management, and soil health practices. Current and past funded projects include root physiology research supported by the Almond Board of California, the US Department of Energy (DOE), the California Department of Food and Agriculture Healthy Soils Initiative, and USDA-NIFA.
Dr Greg Browne was raised on an almond farm in the San Joaquin Valley of California. After graduate studies in plant pathology at UC Davis, he served for several years as UC Farm Advisor for Vegetable Crops and Plant Pathology in Kern County. He joined USDA-ARS in 1995 as a Research Plant Pathologist at Davis, CA, where he worked to improve soilborne disease management strategies for fruit and nut trees. His research focused especially on replant problems of almond and Phytophthora diseases of almond and walnut. He directed an area-wide program facilitating development of alternatives to methyl bromide in the western US. Greg retired from USDA-ARS in 2025 and resides on a small almond farm near Sanger, CA.
Maciej Zwieniecki is Professor of Plant Sciences at the University of California, Davis. Trained as a forest scientist at Oregon State University and formerly at Harvard, he studies how trees move water and manage stored carbohydrate reserves, and how disturbances such as wildfire smoke, heat waves, warm winters and other unusual climatic events affect tree health and yield. His group runs a long-term carbohydrate monitoring program across California almond, pistachio and walnut orchards, supported by the Almond Board of California, and builds free grower tools for bloom prediction, irrigation scheduling and satellite yield forecasting. His focus is turning tree physiology into practical orchard decisions.