The scientific name is Prunus dulcis and belongs to the rose family. It has been known, as a cultivated plant, since as early as 1600 B.C., coming from central and western Asia; it was introduced to Italy by the Greeks, first in Sicily in the 5th century B.C. and later in all the countries of the Mediterranean basin until it was introduced in the 16th century to America by the Spanish.
It is a very long-lived plant that, in the wild, can reach 8-10 m in height with varied habit, with both hanging and erect branches.
The root system is deep and very expansive, especially in fertile and loose, skeleton-rich soils.
The best conditions for cultivation are temperate hilly areas; they are not very tolerant of late frosts and moisture stagnation. The flowers are very delicate compared to cold weather.
There are many varieties in Italy but the most common are:
- Sativa: with sweet seed and hard, woody endocarp
- Fragilis: with sweet seed and sweet endocarp
- Amara: with bitter seed. The bitterness is due to a glycoside called amygdalin.
The almond tree is among the very early flowering plants, in fact it can occur as early as early February in mild climate zones. In addition, with the abnormal seasonal variation that is increasingly found, we can see even earlier flowering with risks to production especially from frost.
Pollination is entomophilous and it is important to provide for the presence of different varieties in the field, both self-sterile and self-fertile, necessarily compatible with each other, to allow cross-pollination.
The decline of Italian almond cultivation
Almond cultivation in the 20th century saw a continuous decrease in cultivated areas due to traditional almond groves with manual harvesting. Until the 1950s it was one of the main crops in our country. Then, with the increase of mechanization especially in the United States, where they focused heavily on the selection of high-yielding varieties, to intensive mechanization, with low prices and strong marketing strategies, prices dropped causing the reduction of the value of Italian almond cultivation.
Today, with increased knowledge and a willingness to innovate in this sector as well, almond farming is gaining increasing interest in contemporary agriculture.
Fortunately, there is a body dedicated to the study of nuts, the “World Nut & Dried Fruit Congress,” which observes production increases in Italian almond farming every year.
The cultivation of the almond grove
During almond tree planting, 5-6 meters should be provided between rows and 4-5 meters on the row. The distances depend mainly on the final size of the plant, rootstock, soil water conditions and orography.
In small domestic almond groves they can also be grown free-form, it should still be staked at a maximum of two meters and about 4-5 branches will be maintained, this is to facilitate harvesting and management of the plant.
Generally, for larger plants, globe or volume forms of planting are chosen. The “vase” form is the most common and has 4-5 branches with scaffolding at 60-70 cm to facilitate mechanization during harvesting. It enters production in the 6th year, reaching maximum productivity between 10 and 20 years and declining from age 50 onward.
In addition to the pot form, the palmette form is used; this is generally used for row plants. Production occurs both vertically and laterally, unlike the former which is full canopy. You should get a scaffold of about 80-90 cm and select 3 branches, two will be arranged and tied along the row, one will be left free upward. The latter will be pruned in the following years to have rows of branches parallel to the former; at the end of the breeding you will have eight side branches, four on each side, parallel to each other.
The main problem with almond orchards is light, as with olive trees; in fact, where no light reaches, no fruit is produced by the plant, or produced in minimal quantities.
We will tell you about pruning and other information about the almond tree in other articles in the future.
For now we can tell you that the almond tree is a plant with similar but variable habit, for example some are closed and some are open, so all management operations such as pruning for breeding and production will be among the most varied depending on varietal needs.
Info about DSS for Almond
