SPAIN-PORTUGAL TOUR REPORT- MAY 2025
Tour group members, from left, Peter Reynolds, Drew Martin, Ryan Norton, Roberta DeBei, Deidre Jaensch, Brittany Oswald, Cassandra Collins, Peter Cavallaro, Alan Hoppe, Trevor Smith, Brett Rosenzweig, Brendan Sidhu, Darren Minter, Eryn Wrigley, Ella Henson, Scott McKenzie, Dom Cavallaro, Tim Pitt, Talha Shahzad.
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From page 7 Rootstock breeding has developed a range of precocious, size restricting rootstocks for different soil types. A visit to IRTA research facilities in Lleida provided an overview of the different growing regions and challenges from northern Spain through to Southern Portugal and the breeding program priorities and industry trials supporting growers to maintain yield and quality, while overcoming the challenges of water stress, as well as short growing seasons( northern Spain), frost( southern Spain), low chill and disease resistance due to high temperatures and humidity( Portugal). This set the scene for the 13 commercial orchards that followed, each presenting something new for the group to think about and allowed comparisons between conventional( 6x5m spacings), high density( 4x3m) and super high density( 3.2x1.25) production systems for both Mediterranean and Californian varieties. The 20-year movement towards selffertile varieties to combat the high winds during pollination in spring has reduced the overall reliance on managed honeybees and all-but eliminated the cost of pollination. Some growers did not bring in any hives for pollination while others stocked four to six hives per hectare to supplement native bees even though they said it wasn’ t necessary as they could not see any obvious difference in yield. Not forgetting European Honey Bees are native to the area. Properties with Californian varieties rely on cross-pollination stocked hives at seven hives per ha
In A Nutshell- Winter 2025 Vol 26 Issue 2
An in-field huller see on the study tour. In-field hulling is reported to keep dirt out of processing facilities by only transferring in-shell to the warehouse for bulk storage.
at $ 100EUR / hive. While hard-shelled varieties provide good protection from primary pests, they have seen an increase in the incidence of diseases with the expansion in irrigation and more intensive systems. Carlos Bisac from the University of Cordoba summarised the main almond diseases for southern Spain in three groups: traditional( Blossom blight; Shot hole; Leaf curl; Shoot blight), emerging( Red leaf blotch; Anthracnose; Cankers; Fusarium wilt), and sporadic( Rust; Verticillium wilt; Crown and Root rot; Seed rot). Growers are constrained in their control options with EU restrictions on pesticide use.
Climate change projections suggest the range of common plant diseases will spread further north. In Portugal, the guarantee of water through the Alqueva project, has been successful in attracting investment into agriculture, improving land value and generating over 25,000 new jobs. SHD has captured the interest of these investors with one commercial property having planted 7,000ha( commencing in 2019) and working towards 10,000ha by 2026. The homogenous plantings of semi-hard shell, self-fertile varieties have provided the volumes needed to capture a share of the European market. However, filling all the jobs has not