Rootstocks and the Almond Orchard

Roger Duncan is a UCANR farm advisor in Stanislaus County looking after the nut crops there. And he mentioned a great rootstock for the almond orchards.

“I guess what we think about as the old standard, conventional tree crop ground, I think Viking will outperform Nemaguard nine out of 10 times,” said Duncan.

“So, the thing about Nemaguard is that a lot of growers are very familiar with it. So that's a plus if you're familiar and feel comfortable with it and there is some reluctance to change. But, I think it's something that some folks should seriously consider,” Duncan said.

We asked Duncan if the nurseries needed drive that new rootstock and what they're selling to the growers.

“They could drive it, but they don't have to. I think a lot of growers don't really consider their rootstock. And so the nursery, just the default will use Nemaguard, at least in the San Joaquin Valley. And in the Sacramento Valley, the default is now Krymsk 86.

Krymsk 86 does well in Northern California because of the heavier soils there.

“Yes Krymsk 86 is better on heavier soil. And it has better Anchorage than Lovell rootstock, which was the standard in the Sacramento Valley.

If you want to know more about rootstocks, just search for almond rootstock comparison.