Almond tree growth studies

Plant type: 

Baby almond trees, two species, Padre and Butte.

Application 

Hand drilled holes surrounding each tree, simulating direct  injection of solids. All monitored trees were planted on the same date  in Jan ’23, and the soil was treated on 26 May ‘23. 

Location: 

A commercial almond orchard in Turlock, California

Results: 

Height and trunk diameter were measured every  2-3 weeks; soil moisture readings were also taken for the first few  months, but this orchard lacked the ability to reduce the irrigation  water to test trees.  Photos taken on 1 September ’23. 

After only 3+ months, on average, 

• the Butte almond trees grown in the treated soil are 20% taller, 
• the trunks are 40% thicker, 
• and the trees are much bushier, compared to trees grown in untreated soil. 

It is premature to make any claims re: increased crop yields, but this farmer was surprised and impressed.

Plant type: 

Baby almond trees,  type Butte.

Application 

All monitored trees were planted on the same date: May 28, 2023, images were taken on July 20, 2024.

Location: 

A commercial almond orchard, Central Valley, California

Results: 

See height of untreated tree (left image) and treated tree (right image) ompared to person in front.

 After about two months:

• much taller tree compared to control,
• thicker trunks compared to control, 
• treated tree much bushier compared to control.

Plant type: 

Baby almond trees,  type Padre.

Results: 

The trees in this photo were planted in different years. The tree planted to the left was planted in 2023. The tree to the right was planted in 2022, but without our soil amendment.

These images indicate that we might be able to shorten the time by a year the farmer has to wait for the tree to produce its first almonds. That is a major adanvtage for the farmer.

In our field trials this year (2024) we have monitored 100 trees, with 21 different ratios of our soil amendment "John's blend". This helped us to dial in the right mixture and ratio of our soilamendment for this application (Padre and Butte almond trees), the ones being mostly used in the Central Valley of California.

Plant type: 

Baby almond trees,  type Padre.

Location: 

A commercial almond orchard, Turlock, California

Results: 

The trees in this photo were planted in 2023. The tree planted to the left was treated with our soil amendment, to the right was control. 

The largest leaves of the treated tree is over 4 times larger than the largest leaf of control. Also the trunk of the treated tree was thicker.