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Western Farm Press has published a series of articles relevant to almond production. Click the title to be linked to the article on the Western Farm Press website:
1. Drought Management and Almond Research, Bob Curtis, Aug 5th, 2009;
2. Enhancing Honey Bee Habitat, Dan Bryant, July 30th, 2009;
3. Almond Pest Management Courses, Meeting Announcement, July 30th, 2009;
4. Climate Threatens Fruit and Nut production, July 23rd, 2009;
5. Tree Fruit, Vine, and Nut Depreciation bill, July 22nd, 2009.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
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3 comments:
Do you ever come across xenia with almonds? i just read about it today. it's a name for the role that the genetics of pollen plays in the development of edible embryos/endosperms (as opposed to metaxenia which is the effect that the male genes have on the development of maternal fruit tissue). I think the most common agronomic impact is heterosis in nut crops - e.g. better, bigger nuts from trees that are fertilized by a different genotype.
i also read today (in the same book, Sexual Reproduction of Tree Crops) that in addition to regulating water, nutrients and pruning, that you can increase apple yields by tieing their branches down at an angle. do almond growers do anything special to increase yields?
Matt,
Almonds are self-incompatible (for now), thus requiring a cross pollination with another compatible variety. I am unaware of any research that suggests that pollinator varieties have an effect on the quality, taste, or size of the almonds. This, however, does not mean it does not occur. Flavors of the almonds often differ by location, water, fertilizer programs, making it very difficult to detect a difference by pollinator.
As far as creating "flat-wood" for increase fruit (spur) production: This again depends on the variety. Some varieties will spur up once flat wood, some won't. I am an advocate that we treat all different almond varieties different, just like we do in any other fruit, but this is difficult to do due to the mechanization of the industry.
Hope this helps!
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