Almond
California grows about 80% of the world’s almonds, about 1.1 million tons/yr.[1]. Because the winter chilling (dormant) period has begun to shorten as the climate warms, some experts predict that by 2030, almond yields will decrease by 10%. One solution is to switch to varieties that tolerate warmer winters.[2] Almonds also need a lot of water and with the doubling of acreage almonds are becoming California’s most extensive irrigated crop.[3] Fortunately, most of the state’s almond farmers have adopted precision irrigation technology, watering roots instead of entire orchards.[4] If multi-year droughts recur and the snowpack in the Sierra Nevadas continues to dwindle in the coming decades, conserving water will be even more critical.
References:
[1] Foreign Agricultural Service, USDA, “Tree Nuts: World Markets and Trade,” October 2018, https://www.fas.usda.gov/commodities/tree-nuts.[2] David B. Lobell and Christopher B. Field, “California Perennial Crops in a Changing Climate,” Climatic Change; Dordrecht 109 (December 2011): https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-011-0303-6
[3] Julian Fulton, Michael Norton, and Fraser Shilling, “Water-Indexed Benefits and Impacts of California Almonds,” Ecological Indicators 96 (January 1, 2019): https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2017.12.063.
[4] Daniel Beaulieu, “Growing Almonds with Less Water: Is It Possible?” October 17, 2018, https://www.kqed.org/science/1933028/growing-almonds-with-little-water-is-it-possible.
