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 8 Growers can determine if they are over- or under-irrigating trees by using a pressure chamber to measure stem water potential, which also provides insight on soil moisture levels and orchard water demand. management area so they can move along the Continuum. Doing so will lead to more efficient and effective irrigation management, benefitting the individual farmer as well as the broader industry." While Devol stresses a holistic approach to irrigation management using the five management areas of the Continuum, he also has advice for growers who want to contribute to advancements toward the 2025 Goals but don't know where to start. "Check the performance of your irrigation system by conducting a distribution uniformity test and address all of the issues that are identified from that test," Devol said. "Based on my experience working with Central Valley growers on irrigation management for more than 20 years, I truly believe that fixing uniformity issues could get us to our 2025 Goal of a 20% reduction. "If a grower has a poorly running system that is unevenly distributing water, some parts of the orchard are underirrigated and not generating the yield they should be. That also means some parts of the orchard are being overirrigated and that's water that can be saved. Improvements on both ends of the spectrum will improve the water use efficiency of that orchard — a win for the grower and a win for the industry." Devol also emphasizes that ABC is ready to walk alongside growers as they journey toward improving their irrigation and water management practices. "Many of the local Resource Conservation Districts (RCD), as well as ABC itself, offer free irrigation system performance evaluations that measure distribution uniformity and recommend actions for increased performance," Devol said. "Growers can contact ABC to receive a free evaluation, or we can connect growers to their local RCD to schedule an evaluation." The gauge: the California Almond Sustainability Program With a clearly defined 2025 Goal on water in place and specific practices identified in the Continuum to reach that goal, how will the almond community know when it achieves a 20% reduction of water used per pound of almonds produced? "The California Almond Sustainability Program, or CASP, will provide us with the information we need to track grower progress toward this goal. But that data is 100% dependent on growers' participation in CASP," Devol said. "Without growers sharing their irrigation practices, we won't know where we are on our journey, let alone if we reached our destination." In CASP, growers can answer a series of questions in the Irrigation Management module, which is available online at SustainableAlmondGrowing.org. In addition to helping the industry track its water use efficiency progress, CASP provides each grower with information on how their practices compare to industry averages. This allows growers to benchmark and track their individual progress year-over- year, identifying areas for continued improvement. CASP also offers growers resources that will assist them in advancing along the Continuum to achieve greater efficiencies, such as an irrigation calculator and mapping tool. CASP and its online resources are free to growers and, most importantly, individual grower data is confidential and can only be seen by the grower who entered his or her information. Growers are encouraged to learn more about CASP at SustainableAlmondGrowing.org and attend one of the Almond Board's free CASP Irrigation and Nutrient Management In-the-Orchard workshops this April (dates provided at the end of this publication). Contact Tom Devol at tdevol@almondboard.com to learn more about free irrigation system performance evaluations. Download a free copy of ABC's Almond Irrigation Improvement Continuum at Almonds.com/Irrigation. 8 Get Involved! ABC's Irrigation, Nutrients and Soil Health Workgroup strives to find enhanced ways to target irrigation and nutrient application at the individual tree level, in addition to establishing what constitutes as "soil health for almonds." Are you interested in attending an upcoming meeting? Visit Almonds.com/Events for more information.