Certified Crop Consultant for Axiom Agriculture, Joe Palomino has been working with growers to optimize their operations for 16 years. Palomino shared some of his agronomic experiences in a recent episode of the Almond Journey Podcast from the Almond Board of California. One critical component for growers to keep in mind is maximizing nutrient efficiency.
“When we start talking about precision plant nutrition, it’s keeping the plant in balance. Keeping this, what I call the ‘nutrient bank,’” said Palomino. “I like to keep the nutrient bank full and in balance and not let the presence or lack of one nutrient, inhibit the availability of another. And I really think it comes down to being on schedule and making nutrition available.”
Staying on schedule with precision plant nutrition can help to ensure trees receive the right nutrients at the right time to prevent deficiencies and promote healthy growth. Palomino also said that rather than simply adding more fertilizer, it is essential to address underlying issues that might be tying up nutrients in the soil. Economic pressures in the almond industry have made nutrient efficiency even more critical. Palomino advises growers to continue investing in their crops, even with tight margins, to avoid long-term setbacks.
“The best advice we can give them right now is please just don’t do nothing. The tree doesn’t know that the market is what it is. It’s still going to look forward to sunshine and water and being fed,” Palomino explained. “You just don’t want that tree to be set back any amount of time. You don’t want to have to play recovery. If you did nothing to this tree, to grow it one year because you couldn’t afford the inputs or the return on the inputs wasn’t going to be what it once was, you don’t want to set back the tree and kind of prolong a problem if you can help it.”
You can find the latest episodes, including the one with Joe Palomino, by searching “Almond Journey” wherever you get your podcasts and online at Almonds.com.
Listen to the segment below.
Brian German
Ag News Director / AgNet West