Dormancy & Chilling
1Dormancy & ChillingTree sheds leaves and enters cold-driven rest; buds accumulate chill hours needed to break dormancy
Foundation phase — variety, seed quality, seedbed and basal nutrition set the yield ceiling before the crop is even in the ground.
Stop irrigation 4–6 weeks before leaf fall to harden wood Apply farmyard manure (FYM): 40–50 kg/tree mature tree in Dec Prune dead, diseased, water-sprout and criss-cross branches before bud swell Apply Bordeaux paste (10%) on trunk to control gummosis and canker Plant replacement trees in pits (1×1×1 m, 20 kg FYM + 1 kg SSP mix) if gaps exist
Almond needs roughly 300–500 chill hours below 7 °C for proper bud break; failure = delayed/poor flowering Whitewash trunk and scaffold branches (Bordeaux paste + lime) to prevent sunburn and borer entry Maintain orchard sanitation: rake fallen leaves, destroy to break pest cycle (shot-hole borer)