Almond

2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38

Almonds (Latin Prunus dulcis) - a subgenus of shrubs or small trees of the genus Plum of the Pink family. Earlier, the Latin name of the plant sounded differently, or rather, Amygdalus communis or Prunus amygdalus. Often the culture is ranked among the Orekhovs, but this is a delusion.

Spreading

In nature, almonds grow in Central and Western Asia and the Mediterranean. Typical places are rocky and gravelly slopes at an altitude of 800-1600 m above sea level, less often on the coast. Nowadays, large plantations of almonds can be found in China, the USA, the Caucasus, Crimea, Central Asia, Tajikistan, the Western Tien Shan and the Kopetdag. In small quantities, almonds are cultivated in the Czech Republic and warm regions of Slovakia.

Characteristics of culture

Almonds are a shrub or small tree up to 10 m high with a rounded, pyramidal, weeping or spreading crown and a powerful root system, individual roots of which extend 4-5 m deep. Shoots are of two types: shortened generative and elongated vegetative. Leaves are lanceolate, with a pointed tip, sitting on petioles. Flowers are white or light pink, solitary, up to 2.5-3 cm in diameter. The calyx is cup-shaped, with sylphytic. The corolla is red or pink.

The fruit is a dry, velvety, oval-shaped odnokostyanka. The pericarp is leathery, green, fleshy, inedible. When ripe, the pericarp is easily separated from the bone. The seeds are covered with small dimples or grooves over the entire surface, outwardly very similar to the seeds of an apricot or peach. Almonds bloom in March-April, in some regions in February, the fruits ripen in June-July. The culture bears fruit for 30-50 years, plants live up to 130 years. The culture does not differ in cold-resistant properties, although some varieties are able to withstand frosts down to -25C.

Growing conditions

Thanks to its well-developed root system, the plant is very drought-resistant. It can grow without problems on dry soils, but moist soils allow you to get high-quality fruit yields. Light clays and loams are optimal, as well as ordinary chernozems, calcareous and leached soils with a high lime content. Acidic, highly waterlogged and saline soils are not suitable for growing almonds. The location is preferably sunny, protected from cold, piercing winds.

Reproduction and planting

Almonds are propagated by seeds and budding (grafting). The second way is more common. The rootstocks are seedlings of peach, sweet or bitter almonds, plums or cherry plums. Vaccination is carried out at the age of two. Planting with seedlings is carried out in early spring or autumn according to the scheme 7 * 4 m or 7 * 5 m. Since almonds are a cross-pollinated plant, it is necessary to plant 4-6 pollinating varieties on the site.

Almonds are sown in the fall. Spring sowing is not prohibited, but in this case, the seeds are subjected to three-month stratification. Seeds are stratified in wet sand in a room with a temperature of 2-5C. When sowing in autumn, the seeds undergo natural stratification. Entries are evolving very quickly. When the seedlings reach 30 cm, they are planted in a permanent place. Young plants tolerate transplantation well, bloom in the third year.

Care

In principle, crop care is standard. Formative pruning is an important maintenance task. This procedure allows you to get bushes and trees with a beautiful compact crown. Sanitary pruning is also necessary, it consists in removing dry, poorly growing and damaged shoots.

The first pruning is carried out immediately after planting, one-year seedlings are shortened at a height of 80-100 cm. Shoots on the stem are cut into a ring, and in the crown zone they are shortened by two or three eyes. For 3-4 years, it is important to form a bowl-like crown similar to a peach. In the future, formative pruning is reduced to the removal of thickening branches and fatty shoots. Rejuvenating pruning for almonds is possible.

Weeding, loosening and watering are also vital for the normal development of almonds. Plants respond well to feeding. In the fall, organic matter (compost, manure or diluted bird droppings), potash and phosphorus fertilizers are introduced into the near-trunk zone, and nitrogen fertilizers in the spring.