Optimising Water Management in Young Almond Orchards with Heavy Soils

This podcast presents insights adopted from an article published in the Irrigation Research Extension Committee’s Farmers’ Newsletter, 210, Spring 2023, titled: Optimising Water Management in Young Almond Orchards with Heavy Soils, by Carlos Ballester, Rodrigo Filev-Maia and John Hornbuckle (Deakin University).

Given water is a critical resource for food production in Australia — and the Riverina in particular — practices for increasing drought resilience are of great importance.

This is why deficit irrigation strategies have been designed for many crops to maximise productivity with reduced irrigation water.

In almonds, these strategies have been mostly designed for loamy soils, often based on a percentage reduction of the potential water use of plants.

So, how do you optimise water management in young almond orchards with heavy soil typical of the Riverina?

To answer the question, a summer deficit irrigation strategy to grow almond trees with less water was tested in three-year-old trees of Shasta and Nonpareil varieties.

Listen in to hear more about the trial.