RESEARCH & EVENTS
High-density almond planting trial at the Almond Centre of Excellence( ACE) orchard in Loxton, Australia, after carrying out pruning inspired by the Spanish“ Poda Aragonesa” method.‘ Vela’ on the right and Shasta ® on the left on‘ Nemaguard’ rootstock planted in 2018 with 4.5 m wide rows.
From previous page Trees on less vigorous rootstocks and managed with repeated light hedging produced more consistent yields. 5. Irrigation and nutrition Though not specifically a research focus of the program, it was observed that for earlier and higher yields in young, higher density orchards, irrigation might need to be increased above the standard levels used for conventional almond orchards, at least until canopy closure has been achieved. 6. Planting density High-density orchards can increase yield( particularly early yields) and improve growth-yield balance when the right rootstock-cultivar combination is used. Careful canopy management, understanding irrigation requirements and further machinery development are necessary to build confidence in these systems. 7. Yield and profitability‘ Vela’ was the highest and most consistent yielding cultivar in high density spacings and demonstrated earlier and stronger profitability than‘ Nonpareil’ grown at traditional spacing when a consistent nut price was applied to all cultivars. High density growing systems in Australia still face profitability and return on investment uncertainties; increasing knowledge about more suitable rootstock / scion / management combinations may reduce the uncertainty. The AS18000 program started the Australian almond industry’ s understanding of orchard intensification and created a network of demonstration sites for almond growers to observe the outcomes directly, under real-world, local conditions and on a large scale. The economic viability of these systems remains a critical question together with access to machinery suitable for narrower rows. Learnings from the program will be leveraged in upcoming R & D investments to maximise actionable grower benefit, including the almond R & D levy funded AL25001- Efficient almond orchard systems and Frontiers Co-investment funded AS25002- Competitive Orchard Production Network.
industry. australianalmonds. com. au
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