Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1218525
A L M O N D O R C H A R D 2 0 2 5 G O A L S WATER USE 7 2025 Water Goal: More Crop Per Drop In December 2018, with input from a broad range of stakeholders, the Almond Board of California's (ABC) Board of Directors released the Almond Orchard 2025 Goals. One of those goals is to reduce the amount of water used to grow a pound of almonds by an additional 20% by the year 2025, building on the water efficiency gains made by growers over the past two decades 1 that were largely achieved by converting orchards from flood irrigation to microirrigation systems. Today, nearly 80% of almond orchards use microsprinklers or drip irrigation systems. 2 "We set four ambitious goals aligning with our vision to make life better by what we grow and how we grow," said Holly King, almond grower and chair of ABC's Board of Directors. Since the release of the 2025 Goals, the Almond Board and key industry leaders have worked together to further establish a vision of a better future for growers, the broader industry, consumers, and residents of the Golden State. Now, a key question before the almond community is how to navigate toward that better future, specifically one where less water is used to produce a pound of almonds. The destination: Getting "more crop per drop" Progress toward the 2025 Goal on water will be measured against almond growers' annual applied irrigation water per unit of crop yield. Essentially, growers should aim for "more crop" — increasing yield by optimizing application timing of water and nutrients — "per drop" — improving irrigation system performance. It's important to note that this goal is for the almond community as a whole — not for individual growers — which allows improvements of all amounts to accrue for the benefit of all growers across the state and count toward meeting the industry's 2025 water efficiency goal. With the low-hanging fruit of flood-to-microirrigation conversions already picked, improved water use efficiency may be achieved in one of two ways: f Increase yield without any change to applied water. For example, if a 20% yield increase is realized without using any additional applied water across the industry, then the goal will be met. f Reduce applied water while maintaining yield. In this scenario, if 20% less water is applied and yield remains the same across the industry, then the goal will be met. The most likely scenario is that a combination of these events will be realized throughout the industry. Optimally, growers may apply slightly less water and see yield increases thanks to other agronomic decisions, such as improved timing of water and nutrient applications. The journey: Using the Almond Irrigation Improvement Continuum "Almond growers are well positioned to meet the 2025 Goal on water use efficiency," said Tom Devol, ABC's senior manager of Field Outreach and Education, "and advancing growers along the Almond Irrigation Improvement Continuum will be invaluable in helping the industry achieve it." Developed in partnership with experienced University of California Cooperative Extension farm advisors and irrigation experts, the Continuum is organized into three levels of proficiency: 1.0 (fundamental management), 2.0 (intermediate management) and 3.0 (advanced management). Each level covers the same five concepts, explaining how to master them at each proficiency, and describes how to integrate them into a larger orchard management plan. "Understanding how the five management areas of the Continuum interrelate is the key to improving water use efficiency," Devol said. Devol describes the five areas in this way: f Orchard Water Requirements: "Estimating the needs of your trees." f Irrigation System Performance: "The efficiency at which you are delivering water to meet the needs of your trees." f Applied Water: "Measuring how much came out of the pipe." f Soil Moisture: "Understanding the effectiveness of your water delivery and how much water was deposited in 'the bank' for your trees to withdraw." f Plant Water Status: "Understanding how much stress your trees are currently experiencing." "Growers may be operating at an advanced level when it comes to soil moisture monitoring, but at a fundamental level when it comes to plant water status," Devol said. "Our goal is to help growers improve their practices in each individual 1 Over the past two decades, almond growers have successfully reduced the amount of water needed to grow a pound of almonds by 33% via improved production practices and adoption of efficient microirrigation technology. (Source: University of California, 2010. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2012. Almond Board of California, 1990-94, 2000-14) 2 California Almond Sustainability Program, August 2019. "Almond growers are well positioned to meet the 2025 Goal on water use efficiency, and advancing growers along the Almond Irrigation Improvement Continuum will be invaluable in helping the industry achieve it." — Tom Devol