West Coast Nut April 2021

The Nitrogen Best Management Practices provide insight and
instruction on how to conduct leaf sampling and analysis,
which is helpful to growers as sampling allows them to
determine the effectiveness of their current practices and
identify current issues.
A small amount of nitrogen can be lost via
gaseous losses and surface runoff, which may
occur if excess irrigation or rainfall washes
fertilizer and sediment from the orchard
surface.
to read page 4 of the Nitrogen Best Management Practices to
learn more about how nitrogen can be lost from the orchard
system.
Monitoring Tree Nutrient Status
Beyond information on nitrogen supply, loss and the 4 Rs
of Nutrient Management, the Nitrogen Best Management
Practices also provide insight and instruction on how to conduct
leaf sampling and analysis. This practice is extremely
helpful to growers as sampling allows them to determine the
effectiveness of their current practices and identify current
issues.
Sampling in conjunction with yield estimation can be
conducted in April to help predict seasonal nitrogen demand.
Then, in July, sampling can be used to monitor nitrogen status
and make end-of-year adjustments.
Growers generally collect one combined leaf sample per
orchard. However, if the orchard has substantial variability,
then the sampling protocol should be repeated in each zone
and nitrogen should be managed independently in each zone,
accordingly.
For each orchard block or sub-block requiring individual
information, growers should conduct the following in April
and July (or August):
Collect leaves from 18 to 28 trees per orchard. Each
sampled tree must be at least 30 yards apart. A minimum of
100 leaves per sample bag is required. Repeat this process for
all orchards or orchard regions differing in productivity, age
or soil type. Identify areas with low-yield performance and
collect samples from those areas independently.
Combine all the leaves in a single bag. Label all samples
with the collection date, field name, cultivar and location
within the orchard, when possible. Also, note if foliar fertilizers
have been applied.
Submit the leaves to a leaf nutrient analysis laboratory.
Retain records for year-to-year comparison.
Growers interested to receive a physical copy of ABC’s Nitrogen
Best Management Practices are encouraged to email
the Almond Board at industry@almondboard.com with
their name and mailing address. Industry members are also
invited to visit Almonds.com/NutrientManagement to print
or download a digital version of these practices and to access
the accompanying Nitrogen Best Management Practices
Quick Guide.
Note: Nitrogen application recommendations differ for
orchards where Whole Orchard Recycling has taken place. For
more information on these recommendations, view pages 7
and 8 of the Nitrogen Best Management Practices.
Comments about this article? We want to hear from you. Feel
free to email us at article@jcsmarketinginc.com
April 2021 www.wcngg.com 43