California
Related: About this forumStop Vilifying Almonds (xpost from GD)
http://www.slate.com/articles/business/moneybox/2015/04/almonds_in_california_they_use_up_a_lot_of_water_but_they_deserve_a_place.htmlIt also explains the heated debate weve been having recently over, of all things, almondsor THE DEVILS NUT, as Gizmodo facetiously called them recently. Amid the massive new water restrictions now in place in California, water-intensive almonds have become an easily vilified, easily visualized scapegoat.
Its true that California has to get smarterfastabout using what little water it has left. But we should recognize that the state has other, much sillier uses of water than almondslike depleting Californias desert aquifers to grow hay and corn to fatten cows. (Nebraska already does a pretty good job at that.) Im by no means an almond apologist, but all this recent almond-shaming demands some context. And, in fact, theres a strong case that it makes great sense for almonds to remain central to the future of California agriculture.
For now, Californias unique Mediterranean climate is almost ideal for almonds to flourish. Yes, almonds use a lot of water, but thats not necessarily a bad thing. Almonds are much more efficient water-users, per calorie, than dairy or beef, for example. (As a Wisconsin resident, I feel duty-bound to remind everyone at this point that dairy farming can be done almost anywhereand indeed, dairies in search of more reliable water are leaving California because of the current drought.) Replacing a glass of cows milk with almond milk is a net gain for the environment. But almond trees, which must be watered even when theyre not producing, have been gradually displacing fields of row crops that can be fallowed when the weather turns dry. That means by planting almonds, farmers are locking in future water use for decades to comea troubling trend.
marlakay
(11,425 posts)Almonds are made from peaches which don't take much water even though they are juicy. He said all almonds are grafts from peaches and since they are grafts they have large shallow roots which need a lot of water instead of the deep rooted trees.
KamaAina
(78,249 posts)with deeper roots, so as to create a drought-resistant variety.
pinto
(106,886 posts)The almond graft doesn't change the root structure of the root stock. The stock isn't altered by the graft, it simply grows roots as it normally has already.
http://homeguides.sfgate.com/graft-almonds-49802.html
mackerel
(4,412 posts)ways to use less water but it still takes a fair amount of water. Nut trees are amazing we really need to keep them as part of the agriculture in California. We really don't need that many cows here, leave them to the midwest where they don't seem to deal with drought issues the way we do.