ALMOND: A PROFATIBLE CROP IN THE MEDITERRANEAN AREA.

Botanical description.

Almond, (Prunus dulcis), tree native in Iran and surrounding countries in Central Asia
and it has edible seed. It´s a member of the family Rosaceae (order Rosales). Almond is
an economically important crop tree grown primarily in Mediterranean climates between
28° and 48° North latitude and between 20° and 40° South latitude. California is the most
important area producing nearly 80 percent of the world’s supply. Almond trees can be
divided in two different type of varieties: Sweet almond (P. dulcis variety dulcis) and
Bitter almond (P. dulcis variety amara). Sweet almonds are consumed as nuts and used
in cooking or as a source of almond oil or almond meal. Bitter almonds are used for
produce the oil of bitter almonds that is used in the manufacture of flavouring extracts for
foods and liqueurs. Almonds may be eaten raw, blanched, or roasted.

Almond trees are deciduous with a hardy dormancy. Typically, size is around 3–4.5
metres (10–15 feet) tall. When the trees flowering produce fragrant, five-petaled, light
pink to white flowers from late January to early April in the North Hemisphere. The
flowers are self-incompatible and that means require insect pollinators to facilitate cross-
pollination with other cultivars. The growing fruit (it´s a drupe) is similar to a peach until
it approaches maturity. When it ripens, the leathery outer covering, splits open, curls
outward, and discharges the pit. Actually, almonds are not true nuts (a type of dry fruit)
but rather seeds enclosed in a hard fruit covering.

The sweet almond crop is located in an extensive area in the world. The most important
point to consider for the success of the plantation is that we don´t have frosts during
flowering.

Bitter and sweet almonds have similar chemical composition. Both types contain between
35 and 55 percent of fixed oil (nonvolatile oil), and both feature the enzyme emulsin,
which yields glucose in the presence of water. Bitter almonds have amygdalin, which is
present only in trace amounts in sweet almonds, and the oil of bitter almonds contains
benzaldehyde and prussic (hydrocyanic) acid. Almonds are high in protein and fat and
provide small amounts of iron, calcium, phosphorus, and vitamins A, B and E.

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Considering the fruit, one the most important part in the plant, we can see the different
stages of fruit growth.

The three stages of almond fruit development and the typical length and weight of the fruit at each stage. Adapted from the UC
Almond Production Manual, 1996.

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Stage I is one of rapid growth of the hull, shell, and integuments. The entire fruit remains
soft and reaches its maximum size. Cell division is completed in a few weeks; the major
part of growth thereafter is expansion. At this point, the kernel is a white structure filled
with watery, translucent tissue. The time between fertilization of the flower to the end of
fruit development is about two months. The end of Stage I is marked by the attainment of
the maximum external dimensions of the hull, shell, and kernel.

Stage II is characterized by shell hardening and kernel expansion. There are two types of
almond varieties: hard and soft shelled. Hard shelled, which are many of the
Mediterranean varieties, have shelling percentages of 25-35 percent, while soft shelled
have 70 percent. They completely harden in Stage II while the soft shelled remain soft.
The growth of the embryo involves clear watery tissue becoming translucent, starting at
the apical end. This white, opaque embryo rapidly expands during this period. Toward
the end of Stage II, kernel dry weight begins to increase.

In Stage III, the major event is the steady dry matter accumulation in the kernel. The
morphological differentiation of the hull, shell and kernel are complete. Dry matter
accumulation of assimilates continues at a steady rate until maturity, as long as the
vascular connections remain intact. Two events signal the approach of maturity: hull split
(endocarp dehiscence) and the formation of an abscission layer at the nut-peduncle
connection. Complete dehiscence requires an adequate tree-water status because the sides
of the hull must be turgid to separate properly. Excessive stress may cause the hulls to
adhere to the shells (hull-tights), which complicates processing. Maturity is also
characterized by a sharp slowing in the rate of kernel dry matter accumulation

Environmental requirements.

The almond tree is a typically Mediterranean crop, presenting an adaptation plasticity to

very different conditions. In this way, it can bear high summer temperatures and cold
winter extremes, or survive prolonged periods of drought, and it can be cultivated in very
poor soils. Although the productive levels will be as much higher as better the
environmental conditions.

 Weather.

The most determining climatic factors for the adaptation and productivity of a crop
are: temperature, rainfall, relative humidity and wind.

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Temperature. For fruit trees in the temperate zone, such as the almond tree, the range
of optimum temperatures for photosynthetic activity is between 25-30 ° C, giving a
strong reduction with temperatures below 15 ° C or above 35 ° C. So that the
vegetative period begins and a correct flowering and fruit set takes place, winter cold
needs must be met and, subsequently, needs for hot. The concept of Child Hours (CH)
is used to quantify winter cold needs, which are the number of hours that the tree must
spend with temperatures below 7.2 ºC.

The almond tree has low needs in CH (between 100-400, depending on varieties),
being similar to those of other typically Mediterranean fruit trees, such as the fig tree
or the olive tree. The almond tree is one of the most cold-resistant fruit species during
the Winter Dormancy, being able to withstand temperatures below -15 ºC. The newly
fruit set are the most sensitive organs to frost, followed by flowers and swollen buds.
These organs may be damaged with temperatures slightly below 0 ° C. The almond
tree is one of the fruit trees that has an earlier flowering. There are large varietal
differences regarding the date of flowering. Thus, in areas where there is a risk of
frost, special care must be taken in choosing varieties of late flowering.

High temperatures can cause serious damage to plants. As you can read above,
temperature higher than 35 ºC can reduce photosynthetic activity seriously, entering
the trees (especially when they are in dry conditions) in Summer Dormancy. Higher
temperatures, above 40 ° C can cause dehydration, necrosis and leaf all, damage to
the fruit and wood burns.

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Rainfall. The main productive limitation in Mediterranean climate areas is water. The
rain is small amount and is badly distributed throughout the year. There is a period of
great water deficit that includes summer and part of spring and autumn. They are also
frequent series of consecutive dry years, in which rainfall decreases drastically.
Mediterranean crops, such as almond, olive or pistachio, adapt well to rainfed
conditions, although the productions are highly increased with the irrigation.

Deficit Pressure Vapour (DPV) is of great importance for plants. Very high DPV
values induce stomatal closure, that affecting negatively to vegetative and
reproductive activity. Also, the incidence of diseases is highly stimulated in DPV
conditions, which may become a limiting factor for crop implantation.

The humidity within the plantation can be controlled, in part, with cultivation
techniques. The design of the plantation, the molding and pruning systems can
reduced the density of the trees and the canopy, in this way ventilation is improved
inside the plantation.

Wind: Strong winds increase considerably the rate of transpiration , causing a water
stress in the plant. They also increase the negative effect of extreme temperatures,
the minimum in winter and the maximum in summer. The tree formation is very
difficult in areas with constant winds. As in conditions of rain or fog, the activity of
bees is diminished by strong winds, which negatively affects pollination. Finally, very
strong winds can cause damage physicists in the trees: fall of flowers and fruits,
broken branches, being able to knock down whole trees. It is necessary, in areas of
strong and frequent winds to use tutors to increase the anchorage and verticality of
the tree in the first years. A good design of the plantation is also important, so that air
circulation is facilitated, as well as a pruning intensity adequate, that it clarifies the
treetop sufficiently so that it does not make screen effect.

 Soil.

The almond tree is sensitive to waterlogging, that produces root asphyxiation. That
means that soils recommended are the loam or sandy/loam soils.

Roots develop in the soil to a certain depth (Effective Soil Depth). In this area is where
they extract water and nutrients. Under rainfed conditions, the Effective Soil Depth is
usually the characteristic of the soil that most conditions the states vegetative and

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productive of woody crops. The effective depth of a soil is usually conditioned by the
presence of a layer water table or a hardened horizon. This may be of a petrocalcic
nature (calcium carbonate accumulation), argillic (clay accumulation), or parental
material rocky. All of them represent a physical impediment to the in-depth
development of the roots. Before planting, it is highly recommended to do a soil pit
of about 2 m of depth, to determine the effective depth of the soil and characterize
and analyse the different horizons that the soil presents.

Deep subsoiling prior to planting can improve considerably the useful depth, when
breaking the petrocalcic horizons, as well as the work sole or the compaction that the
soil may have.

The almond tree can be grown in shallow soils, although we must always keep in
mind that, at a greater effective soil depth, we will have greater root development and
more high availability of water and nutrients, considerably improving vegetative
states and productive of the tree.

 Agronomic quality of irrigation water.

The main negative consequences of the use of water irrigation of poor quality are
salinization and soil sodification, as well as plant phytotoxicity, which can cause
severe damage to the crop and even seriously change the physicochemical
characteristics soil.

Table below shows the degree of restriction for irrigation water in almond trees by
risk of salinization, sodification and phytotoxicity.

Degree of restriction for the almond

tree
Risk measurre None Moderate High
Salinity EC (dS/m) < 1.1 1.1-3.2 > 3.2

Sodization
RAS EC (dS/m)
0 to 3 > 0.7 < 0.2
3 to 6 > 1.0 < 0.3
6 to 12 > 2.0 < 0.5
12 to 20 > 3.0 < 1.3
20 to 40 > 5.0 < 2.9
Phytotoxicity
Sodium (RAS) < 3.0 3 to 9 > 9.0

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 Chlorine (mg/l) < 142 142 to 355 > 355
Boron (mg/l) < 0.5 0.5 to 3.0 > 3.0
Micke, 1996. Almond production manual. University of California

Fertilitation.

Fertilization has to give the nutritional requirements of the plant when these are not
contributed in the necessary moments and quantities by the soil. The soils have great
variability with respect to their physical-chemical characteristics and fertility. The
nutritional needs vary according to age and vegetative states and productive of the tree.
For all these reasons, generic recommendations of fertilization are not recommended.

The annual almond tree fertilization plan is considered to be due to the nutritional status
of the plant, determined through the analysis foliar, must be complemented with a series
of information or references: soil characteristics, symptoms presented by the plant,
vegetative states and productive, and crop management.

Foliar analysis is the best method to diagnose the nutritional status of the tree. It allows
detecting low levels of nutrients, before deficiencies occur, establishes the response to
fertlizers applied and detects toxicities by chlorine, boron and sodium.

The result of the foliar analysis has to be compared with the critical levels of each of the
nutritional elements Table that you can see below shows the values established for the
almond tree. Concentrations below the appropriate level cause a decrease in growth and
production.

Level
Nutrient Low Suitable Toxic
N (%) <2 2.2-2.5
P (%) 0.1-0.3
K (%) <1 > 1.4
Ca (%) >2
Mg (%) > 0.25
Na (%) > 0.25
Cl (%) > 0.3
B (ppm) < 30 30-65 > 300
Mn (ppm) > 20
Zn (ppm) < 15
Cu (ppm) >4
P.H. Brown and K. Uriu. 1996. Nutrition deficiencies and toxicities: diagnosing and correcting imbalances. In. Edt.
W.C. Micke, Almond production manual. University of California.

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Critical levels have been estimated for certain leaf type and times of the year. Therefore,
so that the results of the foliar analysis can be compared with the established critical levels
it is essential that a leaf-taking methodology be followed, according to the criteria
considered when establishing the critical levels.

Samples of homogeneous plots will be taken with respect to age, plant material, type of
soil, cultivation techniques, etc. The sampling will be done in July. The size of the sample
will be about 100 leaves, taken in randomly chosen trees and distributed throughout the
plot. Leaves are taken whole, with limbo and petiole, and should not show damage. They
must be kept cold (refrigerator) until they are transferred to the laboratory.

Almond tree fertilization is carried out, fundamentally apply to the soil or by foliar
applications. The traditional and most commonly used form is the direct application to
the soil. Fertilizers are introduced to the soil solution from which it will be absorbed by
the roots. This system is the one with the lowest efficiency, expressed as a percentage of
the element absorbed by the plant with respect to the total applied. The main losses are
due to deep washing and volatilization to the atmosphere.

To improve the fertilization to soil, it will have to follow criteria or recommendations of

application. The fertilization must be made when the tree have vegetative activity and,
for therefore, with greater capacity of absorption of nutrients, being recommended to
divide the application in two or three moments throughout the vegetative period.

The fertilizer must be distribute uniformly throughout the surface, since the root system,
in adult plantation, explore the whole soil. To avoid losses due to volatilization, localized
applications will be made, incorporating the fertilizer to the soil with a superficial labour,
or, it will be applied in surface immediately before the rains, so that the water incorporates
it to the soil.

By foliar fertilization the fertilizer is applied, by spraying, applying a nutritive solution

to the treetops, being absorbed by the leaves. This system allows a fast and efficient use
of nutrients. It is especially recommended for application of micronutrients and in "shock"
applications, to have a quick response. For greater efficiency, applications must be made

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with the tree in vegetative activity and when the leaves are fully expanded; not having to
deal with strong winds or high temperatures.

In plantations with local irrigation system, it is recommended to apply the fertilizers

dissolved in the water of irrigation, (fertirrigation). This system has the lowest application
cost and a greater efficiency, since the fertilizer is located in a humid zone and with great
concentration of roots, so that the absorption of nutrients by the plant is maximum.

In addition, when the fertilizer incorporated with irrigation water, the loss of fertilizers
by volatilization is minimum. It is recommended to apply fertilizers with shortly
frequency, if it is possible, it may be weekly or daily, throughout the entire irrigation
period, with the exception of the nitrogen fertilization, which is not convenient to give at
the end of the vegetative period. In this way, the fertilizer concentrations in water are low
and constant levels are maintained in the soil.

Irrigation.

Almond tree cultivation in Spain has been carried out in rainfed conditions and under bad
environmental conditions. However, in recent years crop management is changing,
extending to more areas production with irrigation water. This change has made crop
productivity in Spain increase the traditional 150 kg / ha of almond grain to a maximum
of 1.500 kg / Ha. In other areas, such as California or Australia, almond tree cultivation
has proven extraordinary behaviour in irrigated conditions, reaching average productions
of more than 2.000 kg / Ha of almond grain (with maximums of up to 4.000 kg / Ha) with
endowment of very high irrigation (over 10.000 m3 / ha and year). These endowments in
Spain are not possible, but it doesn´t mean it is necessary to renounce the irrigation of the
almond tree. With endowments close to 3.000 to 4.000 m3 / Ha, the almond tree crop has
an extremely high response to irrigation satisfactory, as long as it is applied at the right
time and optimally.

The development of irrigation strategies with water supply below the optimum is due to
the limitation of available water resources, caused by increased water needs in the
agriculture and the decrease in rainfall expected by the effects of climate change. A times
ago, the ultimate goal of irrigation was the crop maximization. However, currently other
factors such as conservation of resources, profit maximization or respect for the

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environment have every time major importance. That means that we need to increase the
water efficiency.

Although it seems an easy task, irrigation is not. Possibly, it is one of the most complex
activities that a grower has to face. In addition to know the characterization of the crop
and have extensive knowledge of the management of irrigation systems, irrigation
requires a detailed study of the soil component that it is difficult due to its great spatial
and temporal variability.

 Irrigation scheduling

Knowing when and how much to irrigate is a rather complicated task. Many methods
are used to answer these questions; due to the complexity of the topic, we will
summarize them, since it is not the objective of this article.

Classic studies on the crop irrigation needs have been based on water balances in the
areas close to the roots. However, for the determination of the irrigation needs of any
crop the most accurate method is lysimeter. This technique consisting of establishing
a crop on a container that is regularly weighed to throughout its cycle. The difference
in weight will be the loss of water from the system, and therefore crop irrigation needs.
This procedure being the most accurate, its use in the practice remains for research
and experimentation laboratories because of its high cost.

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 Lysimeter in Experimentation Farm of IFAPA of Córdoba (Spain)

Other procedures, such as the use of plant measurements (as sap flow or dendrometry
measurement systems), or with soil measurements are increasingly relevant and are
used by more technicians and farmers.

The most used alternative for irrigation scheduling is the studies of water balances
considering each of the inputs (rain) and outputs (runoff, deep percolation,
evaporation from the ground and crop perspiration) to the soil. Once this balance is
defined, the irrigation schedule must complement the contribution from rain to keep
the soil above minimum humidity levels (in the case of the almond tree about 30% of
the field capacity of soil) to prevent a reduction in transpiration crop, avoiding a
decrease in yield.

To calculate the water balance we have to know the ET.

ETC= ETO x KC x Kr,t

Firstly we need to calculate the ETo, there are many methods (all are estimates, only
lysimeter is a real measurements) each with its pros and cons. The KC is variable
throughout the almond tree cultivation cycle. It increases as the leaf area increases in
spring and early summer, then it stays practically constant until it starts to decrease
coinciding more or less with the fall of leaves in autumn.

Evolution of the crop coefficient (Kc) for almond trees according to studies carried out by different researchers.

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 The K coefficient is used to take into account the size of the tree. It can be calculated
using the following graph, which represents the size of the tree through the Fraction
of soil cover (%).

Relación entre la fracción de cobertura de suelo (%) y el parámetro Kr,t.. Fereres, Goldhamer y Sadras (2012). “Yield response to water
of fruit trees and vines: guidelines” en el Manual Nº 66 de FAO “Crop Yield Response to Water”

 Regulated deficit irrigation.

As we know, the amount of water is a limiting factor for the almond tree in the
Mediterranean area. This means that we must irrigate with less than optimal amounts
of water used in areas such as California.

In recent years, Regulated Deficit Irrigation (RDI) techniques have had a special
relevance. These techniques consist of giving an irrigation with quantities below the
optimal but respecting critical periods in which the crop should not suffer stress. There
are many researches that define RDI strategies for cultivation of the almond tree,
mainly made in California and Spain.

The two most stress sensitive periods are in the Spring when the fruit are rapidly
expanding and late summer/autumn when bud morphogenesis is occurring. This
second stress-sensitive period is usually postharvest for early harvest cultivars but
prior to harvest with later maturing cultivars. The results of an experiment
(Goldhamer et al., 2006) provide useful information on the relative sensitivity of pre
and postharvest stress to aid RDI decision making. It was found that the greater the
preharvest water deprivation, the greaterwas the reduction in kernel dry weight at
harvest (Figure 6a). However, minimizing preharvest stress at the expense of

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postharvest irrigation resulted in significantly lower fruit loads in subsequent seasons.
Yield, the integrator of fruit weight and fruit load, was least affected by minimizing
stress after harvest. These regimes also resulted in the highest irrigation water
productivity.

Water supply constraints may be temporary, as a result of one year drought. Single
season drought RDI strategies were tested (Goldhamer and Smith, 1995) where they
applied less than 40 percent (400 mm) of potential seasonal ETc with different timing
regimes: irrigating at 100 percent, 75 percent, and 50 percent ETc until the 400 mm
was exhausted, which occurred in early June, mid July, and late August, respectively.
They found that full irrigation early in the season limited reductions in fruit size but
resulted in dramatic reductions in the following seasons’ fruit load (Goldhamer and
Smith, 1995). They attributed this to the negative impact of stress on reproductive bud
differentiation. The treatment that irrigated at 50 percent ETc, which applied water
longer (through August; two weeks after harvest), did not suffer any significant
decrease in fruit load the following season. When they averaged the drought year and
the following two fully irrigated recovery years, they found that the 50 percent ETc
treatment had higher yields that the other two RDI regimes; those that applied their
available water supply all preharvest. Nevertheless, none of the RDI regimes achieved
complete production recovery even after two seasons of full irrigation following the
single drought year, suggesting that impacts of reduced shoot and spur growth may
have also been a factor (Goldhamer and Smith, 1995).

Once these periods are known, the irrigation schedule it is done in such a way that the
reduction of irrigation occurs only in those periods less sensitive (approximately from
May to August), not changing the calendars optimal from March to May and from
August to October.

The figure that you can see below shows the water balance and the proposed irrigation
schedule for an almond tree plantation performing a Regulated deficit irrigation lower
by 30% to the o strategy. This irrigation schedule required an annual consumption of
4,800 m3 / ha.

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Different irrigation systems.

We reach the end of the article. We have seen the plant, its requirements (soil, climate,
...), how much and when needs water and which fertilizer needs. Now we have left, the
method that we are going to use to get that water to the plant.

There are three methods of irrigation:

 Surface irrigation.
 Sprinklers irrigation.
 Drip irrigation

 Surface irrigation.

Surface irrigation systems include furrow and border strip systems. Border strip
systems that flood the area between tree rows (middles) are more common in almonds,
but irrigation is also done using a number of furrows paralleling the tree rows.
Determining the application rate and especially the application uniformity of surface
irrigation systems is very difficult and is usually done by a professional irrigation
system evaluator. A grower can determine how much water is applied during an
irrigation set, an important piece of water management information. We need to know
for correct calculation.

o Flow rate to the orchard.

o Orchard area irrigated during the set.
o Irrigation set time (duration).

The water efficiency in this system is very low, so in the environment of lack of water
it is decreasing although it is still very important in old farms.

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 Sprinklers irrigation.

The use of micro sprinklers to irrigate almonds plantations has grown considerably
over recent years, because micro sprinklers provide many advantages:

 Irrigation adapted specifically for the plantation; the foliage does not get
wet, while at the same time, the wetting zone and irrigation volume can be
matched optimally to the tree growth stage. Increasing wetting zone radius
as the tree grows is easy and rapid, requiring only another sprinkler
between the trees.
 Matching the wetting radius and the area beneath the trees to the growth
of tree root surface area, with the aim of increasing water and fertilizer
take up efficiency and to help establish and stabilize the tree in the soil.
 Irrigation using a wide range of flow rates, including very low rates (2002
Aqua Smart – Up to 20 liters / hour; 15 liters / hour for the Jet family).

 Irrigation using micro sprinkles overhead for cooling and frost protection
up to about -3º C. Wetting the area helps prevent freezing, which can often
cause irreversible damage to the trees.

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Two types of sprinkler irrigation systems are used in almond orchards: impact
sprinklers and rotator-type sprinklers. Pressure measurements can be taken
relatively quickly and easily in sprinkler irrigation systems.

The following information should be take in account for almonds tree irrigated
with impact sprinklers:

 Spacing between sprinklers in a tree row and spacing between

sprinklers across the tree row.
 At each sprinkler, the nozzle orifice size should be determined and the
operating pressure measured.
It is recommended that the sprinkler system be evaluated at a minimum of
every three years. The evaluation can be done at any time during the irrigation
season. Before any measurements are taken in the orchard, the filters (if any),
mainlines and submains should be flushed to ensure that the sprinkler system
is working optimally. If sprinklers need to be cleaned, this should be done at
this time.

It is standard practice to use sprinkler systems in nut plantations with free

draining soil, when the trees have been planted on raised banks; when the
ground is stony and it is necessary to enlarge the trees’ root system and
establish the trees more firmly; in areas requiring supplementary irrigation
during dry seasons and in adult plantations to avoid wetting the young trees’
foliage. Sprinklers continue to work well in difficult climatic conditions such
as strong winds and they can be installed in a very wide range of ground
conditions. Sprinkler systems have low filtering requirements, which means
they can also be used for plantations with a poor quality water supply. Using
sprinklers on heavy soils enables flushing salts to soil depth.

Selecting the correct type of sprinkler and sprinkler layout is primarily a

function of the planting stand, plantation age and tree canopy configuration.
Usually, the use of low angle sprinklers (which do not wet the tree foliage),
with a broad wetting radius is the best way to irrigate almonds tree
plantations. NaanDanJain recommends the use of 4º to 12º, low wetting angle
sprinklers and using this unique irrigation equipment, it is possible to irrigate
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 at high flow rates with larger distances between sprinklers and thereby, to
achieve very high levels of irrigation uniformity.

 Localizated irrigation.

Currently, localized irrigation are mostly implanted in almonds tree. Regarding

the systems of surface and spray, localized irrigation is more efficient, it needs
less water endowments, providing small amounts of water in some fixed points,
with a high frequency. This water supply system allows the formation of land
areas (bulbs) in where humidity is always maintained very high soil, which
favours the absorption of water and nutrients by the roots. They also have the
advantage of being able to apply, through irrigation water, fertilizers, herbicides
and phytosanitary products. Among its disadvantage can cite the danger of shutter
of the emitters, if the water characteristics of irrigation are not good, and the
inability to perform work in the sense perpendicular to the branches, if these are
placed on the ground surface. Shutter of the emitters, using drippers of high
quality and a good filtration can be avoid.

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The localized system in almonds tree is divided in two types of irrigation: micro
sprinkler and drip pipes. Micro sprinkler irrigation, the emission of the water is
done by small sprinklers in form of fine rain. The micro sprinklers present,
compared to conventional sprinklers, a need for lower water pressure (1-2 kg /
cm2), a smaller flow (16-200 l / hour) and a very wet radius less (less than 3 m).
Within the systems located is the one that manages to wet more land area,
providing more water with a lower frequency. In areas of much wind presents
difficulties due to lack of uniformity in the distribution of water, likewise, It is the
one that produces the highest humidity in the plantation, favoring the incidence of
diseases.

The drip irrigation system is the one with the greatest advantages for cultivation
of fruit trees, being the one used in practice all of the new plantations.

Laterals pipe usually are made of low density polyethylene, with a diameter
between 16-20 mm, thickness less than 2mm and maximum pressures of 2.5 kg /
cm2. The drippers are water emitting devices, that bring water slowly to the
ground, drop by drop, forming a wet bulb in the ground. They are made of plastic
material, they are made of low flow rate (less than 16 l / hour), being those of 2
and 4 l / hour the most used, working pressure is around 1 kg / cm2. Can be
punctured or integrated inside the pipeline. If the plantation is sloping Pressure
Compensated (PC) drippers are recommended, that allow to maintain a constant
flow despite the pressure differences that give along the pipe caused by the land
level differences.

The most active roots of the tree are concentrated in the area of the wet bulb. If
few drip points are available per tree, the wet surface will be very small, which
limit the development of roots to a volume of very restricted soil. To get the
maximum productive yields should be wet more than 30-40% of the surface under
treetop.

When we calculate the irrigation installation, the main conditioning factors will
be the endowment of available water, the time of use, soil properties and planting
characteristics.

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The texture must be taken into account of the soil when we design the irrigation.
In sandy soils the wet bulb is smaller, water infiltration rate is greater, the capacity
of retention on the soil is smaller, which may cause, large losses of water by deep
percolation and desiccation strong soil if the period between irrigation is
excessive. Clay soils behave in a way on the contrary, for this type of soil, we
must avoid large contributions of water or a frequency of very low watering, so as
to avoid maintaining the flooded soil during a period of very long time, since that
would cause tree death due to root asphyxiation. The design and management of
irrigation must try

to wet the largest land area that can and keep in the drip zone constant humidity
as long as possible. In this way we will limit water losses by evaporation of the
surface of the bulbs and by percolation towards deep horizons of soil.

Drip irrigation is an irrigation method widely used in plantations all over the
world. While a plantation is still young, a single dripper line is laid close to the
tree trunk. As the tree grows, another line is added and sometimes, even a third
and fourth line are added (as appropriate to the type of soil and the tree root
volume). Dripper lines can be very long.

Drip irrigation has many advantages:

o The ability to work at low flow rates

o Dripping saves water (a solution for countries where water is scarce,
but drip irrigation does have relatively high filtering requirements).
o Maintains a continuous wetted strip along the line of trees
o Optimal method for fertilizing the trees
o Avoids wetting the tree trunk and helps reduce humidity, which
prevents rotting, disease and weed growth.

 Subsurface drip irrigation.

The use of subsurface drip irrigation (SDI) is nothing new on a worldwide level.
In Israel the practice has been around since the 1960s. SDI has had many diverse
uses around the world for a multitude of crops on multiple soil types in various
climates.

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SDI is a system that provides a low-pressure water source to almonds, and other
crops, through buried drip tape or hard tubing with built-in emitters.

Subsurface drip irrigation presents, compared to traditional surface drip irrigation,

many advantages:

o Higher yields with significant reduction in water usage.

o Several studies have shown soil evaporation, surface runoff, and deep
percolation are greatly reduced or eliminated with SDI.
o The volume of wet soil is bigger.
o The maintenance costs decrease.
o It does not limit the traffic of machinery.
o Less herbicide use is required with SDI as there is less of a weed problem.
o The irrigation equipment is protected against pests and climatic damage.
o We are also able to irrigate during windy conditions.
o Studies have found with SDI runoff into streams is reduced or eliminated,
and there is less nutrient and chemical leaching due to deep percolation.
o SDI include design flexibility.
o System longevity in some cases, placing water right where the roots are.
o The ability to irrigate during harvest, and a dry orchard floor helping to
prevent surface diseases. Research at Kansas State University found
damage to almonds drying on the surface during harvest when irrigation
may be required is eliminated with SDI.

The main disadvantage are:

o SDI can have a high initial investment cost compared to some other
irrigation systems, but that investment pays off in the end with higher
crop yields and less water usage.
o Rodents, such as gophers, can cause damage to the system by chewing
on it.
o Clogging can be a problem from buildup of minerals and algae.
Cleanout valves installed at the end of the tube lines are important to
remove blockages and draining the system.

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 o Root intrusion and pinching off by roots can be another problem, all of
which growers cannot see until damage becomes evident in the tree or
vegetation around it.
o The lack of visual indicators of proper irrigation performance is a
major disadvantage with SDI. It cannot be controlled visually the
correct operation of the drippers.
o There is a danger of sealing drippers and breakage of pipes caused by
soil roots.

Currently, there are dripper tested available in the market to avoid these problems.

Almonds plantations usually cover a large area with lots of movement of animals,
including rodents, birds, small reptiles and sometimes even large wild pigs, which
can damage equipment and systems laid out on the ground surface, such as surface
drip lines, distribution pipes and often, sprinklers as well. That damage can add
up to very large sums. Moreover, in many plantations, there is ever increasing use
of agricultural machines at every growing stage, including surface nut harvesting.
Burying the dripper lines in the ground makes life easier because the surface is
clear for the easy passage of machinery and ongoing work. During planting, two

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to four dripper lines are buried to a depth of 10cm to 30cm below the soil surface
as appropriate for the soil conditions and the risks at large in the plantation. Those
dripper lines wait to be used, beginning in the plantation’s third year. During the
first two years, the plantation is irrigated using a surface dripper system. After two
years (or three according to tree development), the plantation moves over to
irrigation using the buried system. If the variety of trees in the plantation has high
water demands, which have a very large spread of roots and high water demands;
two to four dripper lines are buried on each side of the row of trees in order to
reach full wetting of the soil and to reach irrigation volumes sufficient to achieve
optimum tree growth.

Dripper systems, including SDI systems, require a high standard of filtration,

collection pipes, line flushing systems and vacuum valves. High standards of
regular maintenance, good quality filtering and system monitoring will extend the
system’s proper functioning and length of working life.

When laying very long lines in a plantation (500 to 700 meters), the grower must
ensure that the minimum pressure reaches 3 bar at the beginning of the line and
that line must be a 20mm pipe with one meter spacing between drippers, working
at a flow rate of 1 to 1.1 l/h.

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Bibliography:

 Nuevas tendencias en el cultivo del almendro.

Xavier Miarnau Prim PhD.
IRTA
 Fruit, trees and vines.
Elias Fereres PhD.
University of Cordoba and IAS-CSIC, Cordoba, Spain.
 Almond irrigation improvement continuum.
Larry Schwankl and others.
UCCE.
 Manual del almendro.
Octavio Arquero y others
Junta de Andalucía.
 Manual para el cultivo del almendro.
Baldomero Casado y otrhers.
Junta de Andalucía.
 Nuts. Almond, pecan, walnut, macadamia, hazelnut, cashew.
NaandanJain a Jain Irrigation company.
 Microsprinkler evaluation exampler.
University of California.
 Resutado del riego deficitario en leñososos.
Ramón López Urrea.
ITAP
 Subsurface Drip Irrigation in almonds.
Larry Schwankl.
University of California.

Manuel Gómez Carmona.

Agronomist.
PLM Smart Irrigation and New Technologies.

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