The yield of almonds in different years and in different orchards is
probably more variable than that of any other of the common orchard
fruits. The fluctuations from year to year are largely due to climatic
conditions, while the variations in different orchards are largely due
to variety, care given the trees throughout their life, the character of
the soil, and location with relation to local frost conditions.
Almonds first commence bearing at from two to four years of age; the
first crop ranging from one or two nuts up to a hatful or possibly
more. The trees will first commence to bear a crop which it will pay
to harvest, at from three to five years of age. Ordinarily, it will be
nearer the latter, depending upon the type of soil in which the trees are
growing and the moisture conditions surrounding them. On the hill lands
the trees begin to mature much earlier than in the rich bottom lands and
consequently come into bearing earlier. It must be borne in mind that a
crop which it will pay to harvest does not necessarily pay for the cost
of orchard maintenance. A crop is not considered a paying crop until it
pays for the cost of maintenance as well as harvesting and handling.
Almond orchards, as a rule, reach this point at from five to seven
years of age. From this time on the trees should continue to increase
in production from year to year, allowing for failures due to frost and
other unfavorable conditions, until they are from 12 to 20 years old.
Under the common methods of care that most orchards receive, the trees
commence to decrease in their production at from 25 to 30 years, although
in some cases it will be even sooner than that. On the other hand, well
cared-for orchards will continue their maximum production even longer.
The age at which an orchard will no longer pay will range from 30 years
upward. The top limit is still unknown.
Investigations carried on during 1913-1914[5] brought out the following
facts: The average production of almonds in California is between 700
and 800 pounds per acre; if care is exercised in the selection of a
proper location for an orchard and if good judgment is used in managing
it, 1000 pounds per acre would be a safe estimate for business purposes;
in many years competent men might be expected to obtain 1500 pounds per
acre, but this could not be expected to hold for a ten-year average. The
possibilities are shown by the crop from one acre on the University Farm,
at Davis, California, of ten-year-old trees which amounted to nearly 2800
pounds in 1917.