AlmondBeat Report California / No. 2 - Switch to regular practices

After the weekend's first significant heatwave of the season, which was covered in our previous report, we're examining how did trees and growers react and what's up next for the Valley's almonds.

AlmondBeat Report #2. Here we go.

20ᵗʰ-27ᵗʰ: Avoiding severe stress

We knew it was coming. The season's first significant heat wave that peaked during the weekend hit the valley with temperatures ranging between 85-90 ℉. But as the saying goes, before anything else preparation is the key to success. Many growers applied short-timed irrigation, making sure the soil's upper part had enough moisture (without washing away important nutrients). The result: though some level of stress was unavoidable even in irrigated blocks (as shown by the yellow indicator on the plant app), severe stress (red) was denied by this well-timed boost of water. This is evident by 2 different irrigation tactics, laid out side by side in the below picture. "A" tactic was to apply short-timed irrigation before and during the heatwave that prevented severe stress, while in "B", severe stress wasn't avoided although irrigation was applied 2-3 days earlier.

Timing is everything

27ᵗʰ April-May 4ᵗʰ: Switching to regular practices

Looking at plant status from millions of almond trees covered in the Valley, 3 keys emerge: