IN YOUR ORCHARD
TIME TO CONSIDER
According to the World Health Organization, “nutrition is a critical part of health and development.” We know this to be true for ourselves, and it is no different for the trees in your orchard. Nutrition is critical for the health, development, and maybe most importantly, the yield of your orchard. This spring has brought multiple storms, which has made fertilizer applications difficult. If you feel that you are behind in your nutrient program, you are not alone; there is still time to catch up. In this “Time to Consider” article I’ll discuss some of the main nutrients important to the health of almonds and why you may want to consider adding them to your nutrition program.
I want to start off first by saying that before you decide to apply any nutrients, talk with your PCA/CCA about your specific orchard. What works for one orchard may not be helpful for another. A good place to start is by taking tissue and soil samples, so you have a baseline of what your orchard has and what it may be missing. The base of any nutrient program should start with the macronutrients needed for plant growth. Those macronutrients are nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium . Nitrogen is thought to be the most important nutrient when talking about almond production. That may be up for debate, but more on that later. Nitrogen is the driver for tree growth and development. It encourages stem, shoot and leaf growth. Nitrogen is vital in the development of a full tree canopy. The greater the tree canopy, the more sunlight is captured. With a full canopy, a higher rate of photosynthesis is achieved leading to the potential of higher and more consistent yields. However, there can
be too much of a good thing. Overapplying nitrogen or applying it late in the growing season can lead to the development of hull rot, which can have negative impacts on your field. The second macronutrient is phosphorus , which plays an important role in root development and energy transportation throughout the tree. In my local soils in Stanislaus County, soil samples tend to show high levels of phosphorus. These high levels can represent a false positive because the phosphorus may be tied up in the soil and not available to the plant. Applying phosphorus is not always needed in mature orchards but is important for young establishing orchards. In young plantings, root development is critical and should not be overlooked. The last macronutrient is potassium . Potassium might have something to say about nitrogen being the most important nutrient. Potassium is needed for the transportation of carbohydrates (sugar) throughout the tree. This aids in photosynthesis, which is important for the growth and
Figure 1 Fertigation Setup by Trent Voss
Figure 3 Fertilizer Application via Tag-A-Long by Trent Voss
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ALMOND FACTS
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