Detailed Explanation of Almond Cultivation Techniques and Management Points

In the spring of 2002, we introduced 3 superior varieties including Nonpareil from the Shandong Provincial Fruit Research Institute for planting. The trial found that their overall traits were all excellent, with strong adaptability, early fruiting, large and uniform fruit, and superior flavor. The key cultivation techniques are as follows:

1. Site selection: Almond has low soil requirements and is highly tolerant of poor soil, drought, and cold. For orchard establishment, sandy loam soil that is fertile, with deep soil layers and good aeration is preferable.

2. Planting and orchard establishment: Select high-quality almond trees of the main cultivar Nonpareil with a seedling height of 80 cm and a diameter of more than 0.8 cm, with Mission and Nonpareil serving as the dual pollinizers for Nonpareil in a 4:1 ratio. The planting spacing is 3 m x 4 m or 4 m x 5 m, and planting can be done in either spring or autumn.

3. Training and pruning: Use the open-center shape. Almond has strong branching ability and is easy to train and prune. Young trees and trees in the initial fruiting stage grow vigorously. When new shoots reach 50-60 cm, they should be pinched promptly, and excess branches should be thinned. For upward-growing and vertical branches, bend or twist them so that the branches reasonably occupy the space, achieving coordination between fruiting and growth. Basically no pruning is done in winter. For aging trees, pruning during the dormant period mainly uses heading back, thinning, renewal pruning, and leaving long branches unpruned.

4. Fertilizer and water management: In the year of planting, after the new leaves first unfold, spray a 0.3% urea aqueous solution once every 10-15 days for a total of 3-4 sprays. Apply base fertilizer once a year at 15 kg per tree. For mature trees, apply base fertilizer once every 2-3 years at 50-100 kg per tree. Fruiting trees should have strengthened fertilizer and water management, with fertilization 3 times a year, namely at the bud break stage, the shell-hardening stage, and after fruit harvest, applied together with watering. In the late growth period, spray 0.3% monopotassium phosphate on the leaves to promote shoot maturity. Before the soil freezes, water once with winter irrigation.

5. Pest and disease control: Before bud break, spray 5 degrees Baume lime sulfur mixture to kill overwintering eggs. After petal fall, spray once with deltamethrin 2000-3000 times dilution, or 25% diflubenzuron No. 3 suspension concentrate 1500-2000 times dilution to control Lepidoptera pests. Use 25% moth-aphid spirit wettable powder 1500-2000 times dilution to kill moths and aphids, and choose 20% saomanjing 4000-5000 times dilution to control red spider mites. To control bacterial shot hole disease and gummosis, use 70% mancozeb wettable powder 800 times dilution, spraying once every 15 days for a total of 3-4 times.