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Shredding trial
San Joaquin County Farm Advisor Brent Holtz will be on hand to discuss the effects of whole-orchard recycling on second-generation tree growth, soil carbon and fertility. Attendees will see a live demonstration of an Iron Wolf pushing, grinding and incorporating whole almond trees.
Holtz conducted a research trial in Madera County where he used shredded prunings to study the soil fertility impacts of shredding and incorporating whole trees into a field that would be planted in almonds.
The work began in 2003 and was funded by the Almond Board of California.
Using an “Iron Wolf,” a 50-ton rototiller capable of grinding whole trees and incorporating chips into the soil, whole peach trees in an old orchard were shredded and incorporated in plots, with trees in other plots burned and the ashes spread on the soil surface. Almond trees planted in both plots were fertilized normally.
Shredded prunings were incorporated one-to-two inches into the soil, and after 11 years, several benefits were realized, most notably, higher soil nutrient levels, lower pH and more organic matter (OM). The OM bound up sodium to the extent that leaves had up to half the amount of sodium compared to the control.
