Micro-irrigation
Over the past two decades, almond farmers have reduced the amount of water needed to grow a pound of almonds by 33% via improved production practices and adoption of efficient micro-irrigation - whereby flexible plastic tubing at ground level allows farmers to aim water at trees’ root zones instead of across an entire field, reducing water lost to evaporation and obviating the need for large impact sprinklers or the flooding of graded fields.
By 2025, the California almond community commits to reduce the amount of water used to grow a pound of almonds by an additional 20%, said Tom Devol at the ABC.
Another area the ABC has been researching is groundwater recharge, whereby almond orchards might play a role as a sink for excess winter rains which could be used to flood orchards during winter dormancy and percolate down into aquifers, which under the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act must be managed sustainably, such that groundwater drawn out is matched by what’s put back in. (Photo: Kevin Fiscus Photography for Almond Board of California.)