Rootstock Research: It's Critically Important For the Almond Industry

Roger Duncan is a UCANR Farm Advisor, specializing and nut crops, based in Stanislaus County.

“Rootstock work is continuing, and I think we're just at this point sort of confirming or wrapping up some of the longer term trials where we've looked at all the various hybrids,” said Duncan. “And I guess I'm getting to the point where we may think about focusing on other rootstocks and not having Nemaguard be our standard rootstock anymore,” he said.

Duncan said one rootstock, known as Viking, is moving up the go-to charts.

“If you have circumstances that maybe a different rootstock would work better then you would change. But I think using Nemaguard as the standard rootstock, and then maybe making a change if you happen to be on really heavy ground or really light ground or something. Maybe we should change that maybe we should rethink that,” noted Duncan.

Duncan describes what Viking brings to the grower as a rootstock. “It has better nematode tolerance, better salt tolerance, better, alkaline soil tolerance, better disease tolerance, better anchorage, better vigor, better yields---everything,” he explained.

Duncan noted that on good standard almond ground. “I think Viking will outperform Nemaguard nine out of 10 times.