Where are almonds produced, and what are the growing conditions?

Almonds are a nut with relatively high nutritional value, rich in protein and fat. Almonds can be further divided into sweet almonds and bitter almonds; those we eat in daily life are generally sweet almonds, because bitter almonds contain a certain degree of toxicity. Sowhich places are almond production areas? What are the growing conditions?

1. Which places are almond production areas?

There are many almond production areas. Among them, in our country, they are cultivated in many places across the country except tropical regions such as Guangdong and Hainan.

Almonds are mainly distributed in Hebei, Liaoning, Northeast China, North China and Gansu, and other places. The Siberian apricot grows at an altitude of 700-2000m in dry, sunny hills and grasslands. The Manchurian apricot grows at an altitude of 400-1000m in open sunny hillside shrub forests or under mixed forests. Wild apricot is mainly produced in northern China, cultivated or wild, especially commonly wild in Hebei, Shanxi and other places, and is also produced in Shandong, Jiangsu and other places. Apricot is distributed wild in the Ili area of Xinjiang.

2. What are the growing conditions for almonds?

1. Soil requirements

Almonds have strong adaptability to soil and can grow on gravelly hillsides and in desert areas, but for cultivation as a fruit tree, sandy loam soil with deep soil layers and good aeration should be selected. If the soil layer is too shallow, the tree is prone to early decline; at least 1.5 meters or more is needed, and reaching 2.7~3.5 meters is even better. Almonds can tolerate slightly alkaline soil, and grow well at pH7~8. According to multi-point trials in Liaoning, Jilin and Inner Mongolia, excellent varieties of almonds are not strict about soil and have strong adaptability. When planted in semi-arid areas, they can still achieve high and stable yields under no-irrigation conditions.

2. Temperature conditions

Almonds can withstand short-term low temperatures in winter, generally tolerating -22~-33°C, but when cultivated as a fruit tree, because their flowering period is early, in Northwest China and North China, although they can overwinter safely, the flowering period is damaged by frost and they often bear no crop. Almond flower buds can withstand a low temperature of -4.4°C when just opening, while fully open flowers can only resist -2.4°C; after the flowers fade, young fruit dies at -1.1~0.6°C. They have strong cold resistance. From the winter of 2000 to the early spring of 2001, Hebei Province encountered low temperatures and cold damage not seen in 50 years, and other fruit trees suffered severe freezing damage, while excellent almond single lines grew normally.

3. Conventional seedling raising

In northern China, conventional seedling raising requires 2 years to leave the nursery. Rootstock seeds use Siberian apricot (about 1,300 seeds per kilogram), mountain apricot (about 1,100 seeds per kilogram), own-rootstock, peach, apricot, plum and wild almond, etc. Hard-shelled, bitter own-rootstock has a high survival rate, good healing, high yield and long life; the disadvantage is slow growth. Peach rootstock grows fast, has a high survival rate, but has shallow roots and a short life. Plum rootstock tolerates moist soil and places with higher groundwater, but is not drought-tolerant. Apricot rootstock heals poorly, has low drought resistance, and breaks easily. In moist, heavy clay soil, almonds are prone to root-knot disease, while peach rootstock rarely transmits the disease. Those not successfully grafted can be supplementary grafted at this time; the supplementary grafting method generally uses cleft grafting or whip grafting. After that, the sprouts of the rootstock itself should be removed many times, keeping only the central bud of the grafted bud growing upright, and field management should be strengthened.