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Further research on interactions between cover crops, soil types, and microbial response can help fine-tune management practices to suit the
conditions on each orchard (photo courtesy Paul Lum, AFT.)
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field. Consider other drawbacks, such as gopher population
growth in response to legumes or winter frost exacerbation
when soils remain colder under cover crops.
UCCE advisors, cover crop seed companies and experienced
growers can provide guidance on cover crop establishment
and may suggest options to avoid some of the pitfalls.
Comprehensive soil chemical analysis can guide fertilizer
applications and labs providing soil health diagnostics can
help measure change after implementing new soil building
practices. Field evaluations can measure changes in structure,
water infiltration rate and erosion potential.
Highly productive, carefully managed orchards might
not show any changes in yield or crop quality, but better soil
health may allow growers to decrease water and fertilizer use
while maintaining productivity. Increasing organic matter
and improving soil health takes time and experimentation,
but long-term changes in land management provide an array
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of environmental benefits, including water conservation, erosion
prevention and resiliency against extreme climatic stress.
California’s almond orchards and other permanent crops
provide a critical opportunity to sequester carbon and build
healthy living soils that will remain productive and efficient
far into the future.
Sources:
Almond Cover Crops Benefits-to-tradeoffs Assessment
https://projects.sare.org/wp-content/uploads/Almond-Cover-Crop-Article.pdf
Brady, Nyle C. and Weil, Ray R. (2008). The Nature and Properties
of Soils. Fourteenth Edition. Pearson Prentice Hall.
California Almonds – Orchard Management
https://www.almonds.com/almond-industry/orchard-management
Cover Crop BMPs
https://live-almonds-next.pantheonsite.io/sites/default/
files/2021-07/Cover%20Crops%20Best%20Management%20
Practices%20BMPs.pdf
Magdoff, Fred and Weil, Ray R. Soil Organic Matter in Sustainable
Agriculture. CRC Press 2004. Print.
University of California Drought Management:
https://ucmanagedrought.ucdavis.edu/Agriculture/Crop_Irrigation_Strategies/Almonds/#
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32 West Coast Nut December 2021