3 Smart Management Practices to Optimize Almond Harvest in 2025

Written By Chris Morgner from Agri-Valley Consulting

Here’s a breakdown of three essential strategies to manage your orchard for harvest and during harvest:

First, Regulated Deficit Irrigation or RDI. This is an irrigation strategy to put some stress on the trees at the onset of Non Pareil hull split. There are 2 main benefits to RDI; reduce hull rot and facilitate maturity for a more uniform nut removal during shaking. Stress is accomplished by reducing the amount of irrigation water for a 2 to 3 week period and then normal irrigations until shaking. You can start with a 10 to 20% deficit for 1 week and then a 30 to 40% deficit for 2 weeks. You must monitor weather and the condition of the orchard and modify your deficit if stress becomes too severe. Too much stress will have a negative effect of reducing kernel weight or causing hulls to shrivel and stick to the shell; both can reduce yield. RDI is science and art and demands you monitor your applied amounts and tree conditions closely. The benefits are worth the effort and it will take extra effort to be successful.

CAUTION: Do not practice RDI if the orchard has been deficit irrigated during May and June.

Secondly, also an irrigation practice, is to provide some irrigation water during the harvest period. Give the orchard a small amount of water for a few days after shaking. It is surprising that even 2 to 3 hours of irrigation for 2 to 3 days after shaking can “freshen” the trees enough to reduce leaf loss and keep trees functioning. Since flower buds are forming during the late summer and early fall, irrigations (even in small amounts) will aid bud health and flower bud set for next year’s bloom. Another benefit is rebuilding carbohydrate reserves that are depleted to produce the current crop. Photosynthesis in late summer and fall is critical to carbohydrate production and requires healthy leaves for good results. Irrigations will help retain more healthy leaves.

Third, nutrients can be important for bud set, bloom nut set and carbohydrate rebuilding. I recommend fall foliar nutrients such as boron zinc and nitrogen as an important post-harvest practice. A recent review of almond nutrition principles emphasized having zinc at good levels throughout the bud development stage in July, August and September the idea being to have good zinc levels in the buds during this stage. Including foliar zinc with insecticide/miticide sprays made in July and August should be implemented. Other nutrients can also be included such as boron and nitrogen. I don’t have any research to make the claim that this can take the place of a fall foliar but it is definitely worth doing since nutrients can be included with sprays already planned. Another nutrient practice we encourage in to continue fertigation of N and K during July in appropriate amounts. The demand for these nutrients is less than during nut fill but is still significant to make the effort worthwhile.