Almond Trees Recovering from Hail Damage

Almond trees can be extremely damaged and distorted after an unfortunate hail event. As a result, it is extremely crucial to analyze the level of destruction and quickly take steps to recover the damaged areas. Since the almond industry is a billion-dollar industry, precautions must be taken in order to minimize the amount of damage. Hence, assessing sudden changes in weather conditions become a major requirement in the agricultural world.

Effects of Hail Damage

As mentioned above, these storms can be extremely destructive to almond crops. It can negatively affect plants, flowers and leaves greatly.

Some of the major ways that hail storms damage are:

1. The leaves can be left torn, broken and bruised. In other situations, the leaves can be completely knocked off from the plant.
2. Worms, pests and other diseases can penetrate into the almonds and worsen the wounds even further.
3. Due to hail storms, trees may lose their shape and the limbs may require restraining.
4. Flower damage is hard to assess and can only be concluded if they have been entirely broken off the plant.

Steps to Recovery

These are some tips that can help to minimize the damage due to hail storms:

1. Frequent inspection of plants, especially the damaged ones, to eliminate diseases and pests.
2. Opt for summer pruning in order to boost the growth of young trees.
3. Replacing newer trees may be a necessity if the damage is too severe.

It is also important to note that wound sites are major catalysts for disease, especially bacterial diseases.

Thus, if a wound is noticed:

1. Immediately apply fungicide to prevent other types of unwanted damage.
2. Try to cover massive wounds on trees with branches or water-based paint.

However, if the hail damage seems to be insurmountable, it is best to refer to a professional for advice.