Unseasonal rain dampens almond hope

Vadodara: An agricultural experiment that could have been path-breaking in the state came to a grinding halt due to the repeated spells of unseasonal rain. A farmer who had waited patiently for 2.5 years for almonds to grow and had encouraged others to do so has lost the first possible crop to the showers.
After gathering a lot of information and identifying a suitable variety of almonds, Paresh Patel from Vemar village in Karjan taluka had decided to plant Australian almond saplings in his farm in 2020.
He planted 700 saplings and they grew well. This was the first year when Patel was expecting a crop from his trees.
“The trees had borne flowers and I was expecting a crop for the first time. But due to the unseasonal rain, the flowers withered and I will have to wait,” said Patel.
He has not lost hope and says he will wait for one more year before taking a decision regarding the future of the plantation. Even when Patel planted the almond saplings, he was prepared for losses.
Patel said that a farmer from Rajkot and some residing in and around Vemar had also taken saplings from him. “They are expected to get their first crop next year or after that. Things will become clearer then,” he said.
Patel had learnt that the Australian variety of almonds can grow in a temperature of around 45 degrees. He then identified a nursery in Andhra Pradesh that was supplying the saplings.
Patel planted guava saplings in the centre of two almond saplings.