Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
How to Maximize<br />
Almond Yields<br />
By CECILIA PARSONS | Editor<br />
Almond Yields<br />
Maximizing almond yield potential<br />
in both the long and short<br />
term requires understanding<br />
pomological concepts. Research<br />
updates presented at The Almond<br />
Conference provided growers with<br />
those concepts—keys for a successful<br />
relationship with their trees with<br />
Robert Weaver Scott Lecrone<br />
559-977-2563 559-470-7328<br />
www.bioagservicescorp.com<br />
the goal of achieving high sustainable<br />
yields.<br />
Intercepting the maximum amount<br />
of light by the maximum number of<br />
trees per acre will determine yield<br />
potential, said Roger Duncan, University<br />
of California (UC) Agriculture and<br />
Natural Resources (ANR) advisor in<br />
San Joaquin County. The reality of production,<br />
he pointed out, is that many<br />
Independent Consultants since 1975<br />
We Are Wholesale Distributors of Fish<br />
Protein, Both Liquid and Dry<br />
Certified Products<br />
Fish Protein 10.5-0-0<br />
Fish Protein XL Liquid 6-1-1<br />
Ocean Organics Concentrated Kelp 0-0-6<br />
Soil Food Organic 1.5-1.5-2.5 Microbe Food<br />
Large Volume Available<br />
Prices well below competitors<br />
orchards have a range of soil variability,<br />
missing trees and other factors that can<br />
affect their yield potential.<br />
Light Interception<br />
Bruce Lampinen, UC Davis, who<br />
is known for his work in determining<br />
light interception in orchards, correlates<br />
almond production with light<br />
interception or photosynthetically<br />
active radiation (PAR). His studies<br />
show that in well managed orchards<br />
production increases by 50 kernel<br />
pounds for every percent light interception<br />
after about five years of age. At 50<br />
percent light interception the orchard<br />
has the potential to produce 2500<br />
kernel pounds per acre. At 80 percent<br />
the potential for 4,000 kernel pounds is<br />
reached. Lampinen said above 80 percent<br />
is not recommended due to food<br />
safety concerns<br />
Pruning and within tree row<br />
spacing also influences yield potential,<br />
Duncan said.<br />
High Density Plantings<br />
A pruning and spacing trial he conducted<br />
in Stanislaus County showed<br />
that the closer the in-row tree spacing,<br />
the higher light interception. Light<br />
interception tended to peak at year 11<br />
at all in-row tree spacings. Duncan also<br />
looked at super high density plantings<br />
on dwarf rootstock, which is one of the<br />
considerations for off-ground harvest.<br />
Duncan compared spacing at 18<br />
by 21 feet with five by 11 feet spacing<br />
and determined the tighter planted<br />
trees PAR at mid day was 44 percent<br />
compared to 83 percent for the 18 x 21<br />
planting. Yield potential for the higher<br />
density block was 2200 with an actual<br />
yield of 1,324 kernel pounds per acre.<br />
Continued on Page 32<br />
30<br />
West Coast Nut <strong>February</strong> <strong>2020</strong>
Change language