Excerpt from the article “Considering New Orchard Replacement Options: Whole Orchard Recycling and Anaerobic Soil Disinfestation” by Mohammad Yaghmour UCCE Kern and Kings Counties, Brent Holtz UCCE San Joaquin County, and Greg Browne USDA-ARS Davis, CA on the San Joaquin Valley Trees and Vines website.

With more than a million estimated acres of bearing and non-bearing acres of almonds in California, and tens of thousands of these acres reaching unproductive ages each year, the almond industry is thinking strategically about the process of orchard replacement and how it can best be done, given current and future needs and environmental considerations. In this article, we highlight two practices, whole orchard recycling (WOR) and anaerobic soil disinfestation (ASD), as potential elements in new orchard replacement strategies. We consider promising aspects WOR and ASD based on results from trials completed to date and mention newly established WOR and ASD trials. Special reference is made to potential impacts of the WOR and ASD on management of replant problems. Finally, we mention a few of the important contributions being made by fellow researchers, growers, fumigation specialists, and equipment manufacturers in the new trials.

View the entire article on the San Joaquin Valley Trees and Vines Website.

Dr. Greg Browne inspecting wood chips spread on the soil surface at approximately the same rate the trees were removed (65 tons per acre).