To understand when almonds are harvested, we need to analyze in depth the crop cycle of the plant itself, examining its behavior at every stage.
1. Winter Rest
During this phase, which comes after the almond harvest and coincides with the arrival of cold weather from October to January, the almond tree enters a state of dormancy or winter stoppage.
This phase spans from the leaf fall to the beginning of flower appearance.
Here, the almond tree needs to accumulate hours of cold and reserves for its next development phase. This will be essential for the correct development of the crop.
Throughout this phase, it is recommended to carry out pruning, plowing, and preparation for fertilization for the next campaign, as well as the necessary phytosanitary treatments.
2. Flowering and maturation
At the end of winter and the beginning of spring, the almond tree returns to vegetative activity with flowering.
The almond variety, as well as the climatic conditions, will determine the duration of flowering in each case, making it essential to carry out supervision in this process, to control the proper development of the fruit as well as the possible appearance of diseases that may affect it or the plant.
In general, this phase goes from March to June.
3. Almond Harvest
Generally, from the month of August to September is the almond harvesting time. This date can vary depending on the plant variety and the climatic conditions of the area.
At this time, the almonds already have the correct point of maturity, and their husk (mesocarp) begins to open.
Factors that tend to influence the life cycle of the almond
- Climatology: depending on the area where the almond cultivation is located, the climatology will affect both the flowering and the maturation of the fruit in one way or another.
- Plant variety: depending on the different varieties of almond, the characteristics of flowering and maturation will vary, which will affect their harvest date.
- State of maturation: as previously mentioned, in the harvesting phase, it should be taken into account that the mesocarp opening percentage is close to 80-90% to determine that the fruit is mature enough for harvesting.
- Type of cultivation: the type of almond cultivation, whether traditional or more modern like intensive, super-intensive, or hedgerow, will make the life cycle of the plant different in each case.
