Almond trees not producing nuts.

[Nikakwa]

So my grand-father have been an almond farmer for over 50 years. People know him to have the best tasting almonds in the region. In the last 20 years he has been averaging 12 - 15 tonnes of nuts, until 3 years ago, the trees started yielding between 3 - 5 tonnes. The trees were having a decent amount of flowers but they were falling of and giving just a little fruit. In those 3 years he tried a lot of stuff to help the trees give more but in vein. For example he used more fertilizer for some trees, excess pruning some, not pruning others and spraying a tree with some stuff that should've helped (that tree didn't give any nut that year).
If you need any more details, please ask.
Sorry for my poor English and unprofessional words, but hope someone will be able to give me insight on this matter to help my grandpa.

 

[oil barron]

The productive lifespan of an almond tree is around 22 years. They need to be re-planted after that.

 

[Nikakwa]

The productive lifespan of an almond tree is around 22 years. They need to be re-planted after that.

Those trees are not that old. That are new and old trees. But even if they are all 22 years old why did they start producing less nuts at the same time 3 years ago. It doesn't seem logical to me.

 

[jondear]

Maybe not the best forum to be asking on .I think the nearest most of us will have been to almonds is eating them .

 

[Nikakwa]

Maybe not the best forum to be asking on .I think the nearest most of us will have been to almonds is eating them .

Where do you think I should ask?

 

[jondear]

I think there are some members on here from US that might be able to help.

 

[oil barron]

Those trees are not that old. That are new and old trees. But even if they are all 22 years old why did they start producing less nuts at the same time 3 years ago. It doesn't seem logical to me.

I’m just observing what I see living next to almond orchards. It looks like they put more energy towards developing timber rather than fruit as they get older. 22 years is the economic threshold. Have you had frost or a lot of rain during flowering? What sort of irregation are you using?

 

[Nikakwa]

I’m just observing what I see living next to almond orchards. It looks like they put more energy towards developing timber rather than fruit as they get older. 22 years is the economic threshold. Have you had frost or a lot of rain during flowering? What sort of irrigation are you using?

We live 10 meters above see level, temperatures here doesn't get below 5 - 8 degrees Celsius so i guess frosting is out of the equation. Right now the trees are flowering but there is no rain. 3 days ago it stopped raining after a week long "storm".
Where I live it averages about 800-900 mm of rain so we water the trees just in the summer.

 

[Yale]

@Roger Perry

 

[Sonoftheheir]

Where are you in the world?

 

[oil barron]

We live 10 meters above see level, temperatures here doesn't get below 5 - 8 degrees Celsius so i guess frosting is out of the equation. Right now the trees are flowering but there is no rain. 3 days ago it stopped raining after a week long "storm".
Where I live it averages about 800-900 mm of rain so we water the trees just in the summer.

do you have plenty of bees? How is the PH of the soil ?

 

[Nikakwa]

Where are you in the world?

Lebanon

 

[Nikakwa]

do you have plenty of bees? How is the PH of the soil ?

I don't know about bees but I guess I can check if there are bee keepers near me.
And about the soil PH, how can i check for it?

 

[oil barron]

Bees are very important. You can have all the flowers in the world, but if there is no pollination there will be no nuts. Best way to test for PH would be to get an agriculture consultant in to test. Failing that, @Cab-over Pete is looking for a holiday from the rain. Beirut for the weekend Pete?

 

[Nikakwa]

Bees are very important. You can have all the flowers in the world, but if there is no pollination there will be no nuts.

I'll check if some beekeepers moved in the last 3 years. Thanks.
We'll think about talking to a consultant, maybe he'll give us some insight. But you know how old people think, "if I don't know what the problem is, nobody will know."

 

[oil barron]

I'll check if some beekeepers moved in the last 3 years. Thanks.
We'll think about talking to a consultant, maybe he'll give us some insight. But you know how old people think, "if I don't know what the problem is, nobody will know."

If you have a garden centre in Lebanon you should be able to get a testing kit from there for PH. Might not be as accurate as a proper agg test though.

 

[essexpete]

Know even less than nothing but in terms of yield is it actually reduced number of nuts or smaller nuts that is reducing tonnage?

 

[Nikakwa]

Know even less than nothing but in terms of yield is it actually reduced number of nuts or smaller nuts that is reducing tonnage?

This is how my grandpa explained it to me: The number of flowers blooming is the same, but less flowers are giving nuts. So i guess they're not smaller.

 

[oil barron]

This is how my grandpa explained it to me: The number of flowers blooming is the same, but less flowers are giving nuts. So i guess they're not smaller.

Sounds like a pollination issue to me.

 

[oil barron]

For reference. 75% of the US bee population is currently in the Central Valley of California populating Almonds. You cannot under stress the importance of pollination.

Bees for Hire: California Almonds Become Migratory Colonies’ Biggest Task

The growth of almond orchards has made the Central Valley the new center of gravity for migratory beekeeping. With this shift has come new concerns over the health and safety of bee colonies, both on the road, and while they forage in California’s crops.

west.stanford.edu