sept-oct-2020

IN YOUR ORCHARD Research funded by the Almond Board will be a critical factor in how irrigation in the orchard of the future evolves, Saa said. “We will play a catalytic role, connecting the expertise we have supported through public sector research with the growing arena of commercial technology innovation,” he said. “We expect this to result in the development of better instruments, software and hardware that provide a more reliable and user-friendly experience by really understanding the almond ecosystem.” ABC research builds on work that led to the creation of the Almond Irrigation Improvement Continuum, 3 a comprehensive 149-page guide that outlines irrigation management practices for the almond industry. The Continuum also features an Irrigation Calculator, which is available to growers who participate in ABC’s California Almond Sustainability Program (CASP). 4 Saa said the grower-related data on irrigation techniques and water use provided through CASP is critical for researchers as well as the companies who make irrigation equipment. The data also influenced multiple discussions among ABC’s Irrigation, Nutrients and Soil Health Workgroup members, who identified several factors that must take place in order for the orchard of the future to take shape, elements that are outlined in ABC’s Strategic Plan on Irrigation: • Growers must be less confined by water district schedules that influence when and how much water is available. These schedules limit the flexibility of scheduling use-based timing and can affect the feasibility of variable fertility application. • Utility companies compel growers to schedule irrigation around off-peak times for economic reasons. This can strain the ability to meet water demands during the hottest periods of the year (summer months), which have higher water requirements than other times in the growing season. • Growers would benefit from having better recommendations on when to start irrigating (in early spring) and when to stop irrigating (by the end of the growing season). • Low adoption of pressure chamber use illustrates the need for more user-friendly devices that could provide plant water status data. • Continued outreach efforts in all these areas are important to expand adoption, particularly enhancing the level of outreach in the use and benefits of flow meters. ABC’s Irrigation, Nutrients and Soil Health Workgroup members charted a research path that focuses on ETa, the continued development and application on remote sensing technology and better ways to measure spatial variability (the difference in soil types) within an orchard. The group also put a strong emphasis on better understanding almond tree physiology and pomology, wondering why, if the same amount of water should be applied to orchards of similar canopy size, one produces 2,000 pounds of nuts per acre and the other 4,000 pounds per acre. 3 View the Continuum in its entirety at www.almonds.com/sites/default/files/Almond-Irrigation-Improvement-Continuum.pdf. 4 Visit www.sustainablealmondgrowing.org/to learn more about CASP and create your own account. 3 2 A L M O N D F A C T S