Prunus dulcis

Prunus dulcis in Köhler's Medicinal Plants, 1887.

Prunus dulcis (syn. Prunus amygdalus), the almond tree, It is a tree of the Rosaceae family. There are two varieties: Prunus dulcis var. dulcis has been cultivated for thousands of years to take advantage of its seeds, almonds, as food and as raw material to obtain its oil; and Prunus dulcis var. amara, the bitter almond tree, which produces seeds that cannot be eaten due to their content of amygdalin, a toxic substance.

Description

Can reach up to 10m tall, but generally stays between 5-8mand is lowered by pruning. They have a broad, almost rounded crown. The bark of its young twigs is green, turning purplish in direct sunlight; from the second year it turns grey, and progressively darkens. Its leaves are light green, smooth, narrowly lanceolate, the blade is between 5 and 12 cm long, with a 2.5 cm petiole and the margin is toothed and hairless, with very marked nerves. Leaf foliation occurs in early spring and abscission in autumn. The fragrant flowers have a very short pedicel and the presence of numerous reddish or blackish bracts. These are pentamerous, with five shiny petals, white or pink, depending on the variety, these fall in a few days. They generally appear after late winter before foliation.

Fruit

Almonds still in the tree.

The fruit of the almond tree is the almond. When it is still green it is called almond or alloza. It is a drupe, with a felted exocarp and leathery mesocarp, green in color, which opens when ripe by a lateral suture, exposing the endocarp, woody and with the surface perforated by small holes. Its measure is 4 cm and bears fruit at the end of summer. The almond ripening process takes place in spring, between 7 and 8 months after flowering. During the summer the pod dries up and opens, finally, its harvesting occurs between the months of August and September.

Flowers

Edaphoclimatic requirements

It is a fruit species of temperate zones. Unlike other Prunus species, it has relatively low cold requirements for an adequate break from dormancy and start of the new growing season, the absolute minimum temperature that it resists is -15 to -6 °C. These requirements vary between 200 and 500 cold hours, depending on the cultivated varieties. The almond tree is very susceptible to spring frosts, so it benefits from well-defined winters. Most of the almond trees are grown in dry land, on loose soils with a medium broken up and sandy texture. Its humidity index is from 0.25 to 0.50 and the rainfall is from 225 to 450 P, that is, it has medium dryness. It can be exposed to full sunlight, however, it is not resistant to strong winds.

Environmental conditions

In case of proximity to the sea it can resist in the 2nd line. It resists urban pollution but not industrial. Its ideal application altitude is 200 to 600 m.

Ecophysiological characteristics

Its ideal pH for the soil is basic (7'5 to 8'5), it does not tolerate salt, on the other hand, lime does. It is poor in humus. It has a fast growth rate. It usually reproduces by seed or graft, its transplant season is autumn and it is highly difficult. The diseases and pests that it can cause are insects, fungi and bacteria.

Almond trees near La Malahá. Grenada

Propagation

It is normally multiplied by grafting on rootstocks of some almond varieties (Garrigues) or on peach × almond hybrids (GF677 and others), the use of bitter almond as rootstock has fallen into disuse, although it was used for many years by be more resistant to drought and limestone soils.

Almond x peach hybrids show outstanding characteristics as rootstocks for almond trees. There are also works available that assess the appearance of new rootstocks and varieties.

The vast majority of varieties cultivated today are self-fertile, the pollen of a variety can pollinate itself. For this reason, the presence of two different varieties on farms is no longer necessary.

World production

Major almond producers (2018) (tonnes)
United States	1,872,500
SpainSpain	339.033
IranIran	139.029
MoroccoMorocco	117.270
TurkeyTurkey	100,000
ItalyItaly	79.801
Australia	69.880
TunisiaTunisia	66.733
AlgeriaAlgeria	57.213
ChinaChina	49.879
GreeceGreece	38.352
ChileChile	36.033

Source

Production in Spain is concentrated in the Communities of the Mediterranean coast: Catalonia, the Valencian Community, the Balearic Islands (Mallorca), Andalusia and Aragon. Spain, as a producing country, is also a great consumer of almonds, either as an appetizer, as an ingredient or in the traditional nougat, marzipan and pastry industry. The almond tree is a very robust tree that in the Mediterranean basin can live between 60 and 80 years.

Provenance

The cultivated almond tree possibly comes from interspecific hybridizations between wild ancestors of the subgenus Amygdalus originating from the mountainous regions of Central Asia. P. fenzliana and P. kuramica are the most likely candidate species.

In Spain

The almond tree has been cultivated in Spain for more than 2000 years, probably introduced by the Phoenicians and later propagated by the Romans, since both made it a reason for trade, as has been verified by the remains found in sunken ships. Its cultivation was initially established in coastal areas, where it continues to predominate, but it has also been introduced inland and even in northern areas, where the climate is not very favourable.

Currently, in Spain there are more than one hundred varieties, but there are five commercial types defined and selected among the highest quality varieties, which are Marcona, Largueta, Planeta, Comunas or Valencias and Mallorca. Of these varieties, the native Spanish ones are Marcona, Largueta and Planeta.

Cultivated varieties

Almond type 'Fita' of Ibiza.

Almond flowers.

Flower of almond

Traditional

• Atocha: very productive Spanish variety with almond quality;
• Ayles: variety of late flowering and ripening of half season;
• Commune: Spanish variety. It is the result of the mixture among other almond classes as the Marcona itself, the Cristomorto, Ferranduel and Ferragnes. Self-fertile and late flowering;
• Christmortem: Italian variety of late flowering and medium ripening;
• Desmayo Largueta: Premature Spanish variety, of elongated fruits and planes;
• Red: Spanish variety of early blooming;
• Ferraduel: French variety of late flowering, very productive;
• Ferragnès: very vigorous and productive French variety of late flowering;
• Garrigues: very vigorous variety. Small rounded fruit and small seed;
• Guara: late flowering and early maturation; self-fertile;
• Marcona: of late flowering, used for industry by the regular form of its fruit;
• Mollar: variety of soft skin;
• Moncayo: Late flowering variety;
• Nonpareil: variety of semiprecoz blooming;
• Planet: Spanish variety of early and prolonged blooming;
• Tuono: Italian variety of late flowering.

Registered

Obtained by CEBAS-CSIC in Murcia (Spain)

• Antoñeta (R): Late and self-fertile flowering variety;
• Marta (R): Late and self-fertile flowering variety;
• Penta (cov): extratardy and autofertile flowering variety, 10–20 after ferragnes;
• Tardona (cov): extratardy and self-fertile flowering variety, 15–30 after ferragnes.

Obtained by CITA in Zaragoza (Spain)

• Belona (R): Late and self-fertile flowering variety, similar to Marcona;
• Soleta (R): Late and self-fertile flowering variety, Pepita similar to Largueta.

Main pests

• Orugueta (Aglaope infausta). Larva of a lepidopter that feeds on leaves when they begin to sprout
• Defoliadora (Defoliadora)Neustary Malacosoma Linnaeus). Another lepidopter feeds on young leaves, buds and shoots.
• PulgonesMyzus persicae Sulz; Brachycaudus helichrysi Kalt; Brachycaudus amygdalinum Smith; Hyalopterus pruni Geoffr.; Hyalopterus amyddali B.). Brotes and leaves that roll and deform.
• Barrenillos (Scolytus amygdali Guer, Scolytus mali B.) coleopters that dig galleries under the bark.
• Antónomos (Antoniomos)Anthonomus amygdali Hust, Anthonomus gentili). Small coleopters that attack the flower buds.
• Cochinillas (Cochinillas)Aspidiotus perniciosus Comst, Diaspis pentagona Targ, Parlatoria oleae Colvée. They reduce the vigor of almonds.
• Almond tiger (Monosteira unicostatatatata). He's a hemist who causes serious damage. They develop in large numbers and can produce large defoliations, which greatly weakens the trees.
• Gusano CabezudoCapnodis tenebrionis). The larvae of this coleopter attack the roots of the trees by causing them to die.

Taxonomy

Prunus dulcis was described by Philip Miller as Amygdalus dulcis in 1768, and later attributed to the genus Prunus by David Allardyce Webb and published in Feddes Repertorium, 74(1–2): 24, in the year 1967.

Bassimo

Prunus amygdalus Batsch, 1801 non Stokes, 1812

Sinonimia

Common names

• Spanish: alloza, allozo, almendolero, almond, almond, almendrero, almendron, almendrolero, almendrucal, almendruco, almendrugal, amelé, amella, amendoeira, armendolero, arzolla, ayosa, azollo.