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2023 AlmondBeat report #1: 4 Keys to kickstart the season

Updated: Mar 22

2023 season is about to kick off and we're happy to share this year's first AlmondBeat report. With vast amounts of water still in the soil after an exceptionally wet winter, many growers that have dealt with droughts in recent years ,are now facing new challenges.


here are some keys topics and tips for a successful start to the season:

  1. When to start irrigating - ask the trees, track the soil

  2. How to optimize fertigation and keep nutrients in the soil

  3. The bloom challenge

  4. Short Vs. Long cycles of irrigation


2023 AlmondBeat report #1 , Let's grow!



1) When should irrigation start?


Irrigating too early in the season, when the tree can "suck" water from the soil's deeper layers (still relatively soaked from weeks of rain), is not just inefficient but might also affect the tree's development.


"One of the questions growers are facing at the beginning of the season is when to start irrigating", adds Dr. Ido Gardi, from the agronomic research at Phytech. Combining the data from the trees and the soil can help growers choose when to apply water and fertilizers. Although this season some growers may start irrigation early, applying fertilizers too soon before the upper part of the soil (0-1 feet) has dried out, might be inefficient".


At this early stage of the season, the tree needs important nutrients that are available at the soil's upper part. Applying too much irrigation - too soon - might wash away those nutrients, and affect trees' development. Let the trees "drink" from the deeper part of the soil while continuing to "feed" on its nutrients.


A daily shrinkage value of around 100 or the season's first "yellow" plant-status are amongst those indicators that trees' water demand is building. Irrigating too early in the season, when the tree can "suck" water from the soil's deeper layers (still relatively soaked from weeks of rain), is not just inefficient but might also affect the tree's development.

Watch out for early-season stress


Over-irrigation can also lead to diseases at the root-zone level caused by excess water. The opposite is also true: avoiding irrigation when the temperatures are rising and trees are experiencing the season's first stress days might harm root-zone formation.


This "saving mode" is also valid for your fertigation consideration. During this period, trees' nitrogen uptake ability is relatively low so applying too much of it might result in leaching and of course - a waste of money.


2) How to optimize fertigation and keep nutrients in the soil


As crop prices decrease and inputs costs (water, labor, energy, fertilizers) continue to increase, growers should step up efficiency on all fronts, while also addressing sustainability issues and regulations demands such as SGMA (Sustainable Groundwater Management