Protecting Soil Health and Food Safety in Almond Orchards

California’s almond industry produces 80 percent of the world’s almonds and contributes $21 billion to the state’s economy. Currently, growers collect almonds after they fall to the orchard floor. To ensure food safety, however, the ground must be cleared of organic material that would contaminate the fruit. These harvesting techniques require synthetic fertilizers and additional water, creating extra costs for growers and depriving soil of essential nutrients

University of California, Davis researchers are testing mechanical advanced harvesting techniques that catch almonds before they fall, remove the hulls and shells and discard them on the orchard floor. These techniques use the almonds’ hulls and shells as organic matter fertilizer. Using the almond’s organic matter as fertilizer eliminates the need to clear the orchard floor and reduces the need for synthetic fertilizers and additional water. This advanced harvesting technique can also protect the topsoil, preserve essential nutrients and reduce water use.

This research is critical to protecting soil health and scaling up almond production while preserving food safety.

Environmental benefits

• Organic matter fertilizer increases soil health and water efficiency.
• On-site hulling reduces transportation emissions and fuel needs.

Almond grower benefits

• Reduced costs.
  • Organic matter is cheaper than synthetic fertilizer and does not cause topsoil nutrient loss.
  • Lighter fruit weight from on-site hulling lowers transportation costs.
  • Organic matter reduces water needs.

• The research identifies economic barriers to expanded production.

Consumer benefits

• Avoiding almond contamination on the orchard floor prevents food waste and ensures food safety.