The Almond Board recently held its annual Almond Sustainability Tour, bringing together representatives from various state organizations, along with researchers and almond board leaders to hear about the ways the almond industry continues to improve sustainability. Sabrina Hill reports.
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- Gabriele Ludwig, Associate Director, Environmental Affairs, Almond Board of California, starts the tour off.
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- Grower Dennis Jizmejian hosted the tour.
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- First stop on the tour was an almond orchard that had been left to fallow due to the drought. The grower had to fallow half his acreage.
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- More than 70 percent of almonds are on water-efficient microirrigation systems, such as the drip irrigation here.
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- At the second stop, the trees were watered with well water only, due to the lack of other irrigation water. Because of this, they suffered severe salt burn.
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- A close-up shot of damage showing on the leaves.
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- The third stop was at a healthy orchard, where the grower had banked water during years when water was abundant, to use during times when it isn’t.
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- Grower Joe Del Bosque also spoke to the group. He discussed how the drought has hurt his business, but also discussed how it is hurting the community.
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- Jizmejian cuts into a green almond.
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- Almond grower Dennis Jizmejian hosted the tour.
Almond Update: Almond Sustainability Tour
Key points included the fact that almonds use less than 8 percent of the state’s agricultural water, and that more than 70 percent of almond orchards are on water efficient microirrigation systems. This decreases water runoff and puts water in the root zone, thus allowing for precise timing and rate of irrigation.
This year the tour was in Western Fresno County, and hosted by Dennis Jizmejian with Bill Diedrich Farms. Jizmejian is a fifth-generation California farmer, who started farming himself about six years ago. He tells us why he decided to host the tour this year.