Well, the dog days are upon us. So far in the middle of the San Joaquin Valley, our 100-degree days have been broken up every couple days by temperatures in the mid-90s. I did see one day in mid-July hit 109, but it dropped quickly a couple days later. The point is, the stress is upon us.

We struggle to find water in our soils in July. It’s tough to keep up. Trees stress. Fertility gets cut back for many reasons, and then we shake…

Harvest Is Another Stress Event
More stress.

Water management is critical. Potassium applications are pertinent to crop quality. The plants need to transpire every evening when it cools off. I recommend fertigating at night if you can. Less water will be lost to evaporation in the heat, and energy prices to pump that water should be cheaper. If you can, do it.

And then we shake.

More stress.

As those trees finish their annual marathon and water stress combines with nutritional stress, next year’s buds can be lost. Leaves can turn yellow and fall off, especially in pistachios as protein ramps up in the nuts and nitrogen gets pulled from terminal leaves. Almonds droop.

And then we shake.

Imagine getting less and less food, less and less water, more and more heat, then getting hit by a young Mike Tyson for a couple rounds during harvest. That’s essentially what harvest feels like to a tree. Recovery has to happen quickly. Water and nutrition can help make that happen.

The soil is dry and pulling hard. Salts like sodium chloride, magnesium sulfate, calcium sulfate, potassium sulfate, sodium tetraborate and calcium phosphate are all pulling hard on the water as it hits the soil. Your trees have to fight harder in the food line to get a meal.

Make it easier on them.

Recovery Starts Now
Have your soluble, plant-ready nutrition ready to go at the pumps and wellheads and get some love sucked in. Fertigation between shakes and immediately after the last trailer leaves the field will help those trees recover. Fertigation also adds this nutrition to the wetting patterns where all the roots are concentrated.

Fertigation does not require tractors, diesel or more labor. It won’t cause compaction in pooled, standing water that may have accumulated in problem areas. Fertigation supplies water and food at the same time.

The sooner, the better.

Often, we think of postharvest soil remediation as feeding events. Typically, this happens in late October to early November after all fields have been harvested, equipment repaired, soil moisture somewhat replenished and fall well underway.

What about now?

Your trees are hungry now. Recovery is key now.

We have three solid months of photosynthesis and carbohydrate building to go. Studies have shown carbohydrate storage slows significantly by October. What about now? Why wait when you can fertigate?

This doesn’t take long irrigation events. Just add some love to those short sets between shakes or as soon as you move to another field to harvest.

Your trees are ready.

Build a Recovery Program
Here’s my go-to formulation.

I love a first shot of a soluble, plant-ready mix of NPK with lots of organic acids like humic, fulvic, citric, malic, gluconic and lactobionic. Organic acids help complex nutrition and make it easier to assimilate other nutrients. Each has its own systemic responses and gene upregulation as well. Beneficial soil biology loves these carbon sources.

Don’t forget, our trees are mostly made up of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. The nutrients we apply help make those carbon chains healthier.

I also add active beneficial biology to my mixes. Re-inoculate the soil with the good bugs. It’ll allow you to take advantage of past fertility applications as well. Your biology can be considered the cooks in the kitchen. They put the recipes together.

I add a good dose of micronutrients, as they tend to be the key ingredients that make enzymatic reactions happen.

And I don’t just use seaweed extracts in the spring. They help mitigate stress. We will still be stressed for a couple more months.

Help them recover.

I follow up that shot a couple weeks later with a good soluble calcium application. Roots flush after harvest to grab more nutrients and push recovery. Cell division and growth need calcium for healthy cell walls.

Calcium tied up in our soils with phosphates and sulfates is not food. It can wedge the ground open to help make water go through, but it needs to be soluble to flush sodium and feed trees.

Give it to them.

Put plant-ready calcium in your irrigation events and cut out the middlemen: time, weather, heat and rain. It’ll help expedite recovery.

Don’t Wait
When we hit harvest and are waiting for delayed paychecks as crops are processed and sold, it’s tough to think about spending more money.

Next year’s buds are already in place.

There are still plenty of leaves for photosynthesis and carbohydrate production. Give the trees what they need to make next year’s buds ready to survive winter and have all the nutrition they need for the intensity of bloom.

Don’t wait to feed your trees. They have been through enough and need to be rewarded.

Shake things up this year and go earlier.

They’ll thank you next year with a better bloom and better yields.

Publisher’s Take

The Big Picture: What to do Next

1. Treat harvest as another stress event

Heat, water deficits and harvest all place additional demands on trees. Recovery should begin before the season is over.

2. Start recovery sooner

Don’t wait until late fall to replenish nutrients. Fertigation between shakes or immediately after harvest can help trees recover while they’re still actively growing.

3. Feed the root zone efficiently

Applying water and soluble nutrients through irrigation places them where feeder roots are most active while reducing the need for additional field passes.

4. Support next year’s crop now

Healthy leaves continue producing carbohydrates after harvest. Maintaining tree health now helps protect next season’s buds and bloom.

5. Make recovery part of harvest

Postharvest nutrition is the final step of harvest, not something that starts weeks later.