Harvesting Almond Orchards in the United States - Essay Example

 Almonds are essentially stone fruit that is normally eaten as nuts. Almonds are seen to grow inside the inedible fruits produce by the almond tree and are closely related to plums and peaches. An almond’s composition and growth have often been likened to that of a peach pit.

The use of suitable harvesting techniques and efficient post-harvest handling is found to be quite essential to the attainment of the highest possible high quality and yield of almonds. This is found to be a critical factor as it is seen to determine the overall marketability of the nuts and their profit. Almonds must be harvested as soon as possible after their maturity to avoid any potential loss in quality and effectively minimize the fruit’s exposure to the harmful orange worm and unintentional subsequent contamination with aflatoxin.

After the almond crop has been successfully shaken into rows, the fallen nuts are then raked into several windows that are subsequently allowed to dry. Ideally, the nuts should be left to attain a hull moisture content that should fundamentally not exceed a moisture content of about 12% while the kernel moisture content should be reduced to a level whereby it is seen not to exceed an approximated 6%. Depending on the prevailing atmospheric conditions, the drying of these nuts can be approximated to take anywhere from a period of a few days up to two weeks.

During the harvesting of almonds, a harvest sample that is taken after the fruits have shaken and before they have been windrowed is maintained to be able to provide an accurate progress report of the season’s Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program, the sample will also serve to not only effectively indicate the current pests seen to have invaded the orchard, but also in the determination of the next year’s management activities (almondboard.com, 2012). Almond production Processing and their delivery to Stores After the crop has sufficiently dried, Pickup machines are then used to aid in sweeping the windrows into several trailers or carts that then transport the crop to the sheller/huller.

The almond nuts can either be hand or mechanically hulled immediately after harvesting when the hulls are found to be rather pliable and can be easily removed. If it is perceived to be quite inconvenient to hull them, the almonds can be thoroughly dried on sheets or trays before they are eventually bagged.

The hulling of excessively dried almonds can be made easier by lightly sprinkling these nuts with some water before they are eventually handled (Dick, 2005). The nuts of hulls that are seen to have quite tightly stuck to the shells primarily as a result of poor soil, moisture insect attack, or lack of moisture are commonly referred to as “Sticktights” (UC IPMP 6). It is deemed to essentially not be worthwhile to engage in hulling sticktights are they are usually seen to crack (Dick, 2005). The hulled and shelled nuts are then subsequently transported to the various processing facilities where they are carefully stored pending further processing.

Immediately after the nuts have been hulled, they should then be spread on sheets or trays to help them dry as quickly as possible. The shells are deemed to be dry enough if once removed from the shells, the kernels will snap cleanly under little pressure without any bending. It is important to quickly dry the shells as slow drying will tend to cause the hulls to have a darkened shell once opened and the light-colored shells are seen to have a higher commercial value and preference (Dick, 2005).

Global almond production has been continuously increasing over the decades other than in 2004 when there happened to be a downturn. The fruit has seen increased demand with its global consumption doubling from an initial 1000 mln pounds in 2001 to an approximated 2000 mln pounds as of 2009. In the United States, the supply of almonds to stores is seen to be heavily regulated by a government FDA directive that banned the supply of raw almonds to stores in Canada, the United States, and Mexico.

Almond manufacturers are now required by law to ensure that they only supply pasteurized almonds to stores. The pasteurization of almonds which is essentially done by the use of carcinogen Propylenedonede or the use of steam is conducted to try and prevent the outbreak of salmonella. The legislation has served to see almond farmers now deliver their produce to either of the five different facilities that have been set up to help in facilitating the pasteurization process.