Almonds as a honey plant
Almond is a honey plant, an important plant for producing tasty nuts, it is decorative and can be used in forestry in steppe and mountainous areas. At the same time, almonds are a honey and pollen plant in early spring.
Honey plant almond description
The almond melliferous plant is a shrub (rarely a small tree) 4-6 m tall, very branched. There are two types of shoots: elongated vegetative and shortened generative. Leaves are lanceolate. The flowers are solitary, with white or light pink petals, numerous stamens and one pistil. The fruits are dry, velvety-pubescent oval single-drupes; the dry pericarp is easily separated from the stone when ripe. The seeds (“nuts”) are the same shape as the fruits themselves, covered with small dimples, sometimes with grooves, 2.5-3.5 cm long, weight 1-5 g.
Honey almonds are grown in Central Asia, Transcaucasia and Crimea. The yield of “nuts” is 7-12 c/ha without irrigation and up to 25 c/ha on irrigated lands.
The honey plant almond lives up to 130 years and begins to bear fruit at the age of 4-5.
Honey plant almond is a valuable nut-bearing plant that can withstand drought well and can grow on slopes. For this reason, the honey plant almond can be grown by small farmers in Central Asia.
Almond honey plants bloom in March - April, sometimes even in February, the fruits ripen in June - July. Thanks to a well-developed root system and economical transpiration, it is very drought-resistant (according to this indicator, it is one of the hardiest cultivated plants). Very light-loving. Almonds can tolerate winter frosts down to -25°, but with the beginning of the growing season they suffer from autumn frosts.
Almonds are bred as honey plants by seeds. Almond seeds are sown without stratification. In November - January. One- to two-year-old seedlings are grafted (budded). Seedlings of apricot, peach, plum, cherry plum, and various types of wild almonds are also suitable as rootstocks. When planted in a permanent place, seedlings are given a large feeding area - from 7 by 7 to 10 by 10 m. Planting is carried out in the fall and during the thaw in winter. To ensure cross-pollination, at least three varieties are planted in the garden. The fruits are harvested as they ripen, which is indicated by cracking of the outer shell of the fruit. Fruits are picked off on short trees and shaken off from taller ones. Immediately after collection, almond nuts are peeled from the outer shells of the fruit and dried for 3-4 days in the sun. Dried nuts are stored in dry rooms.
When almonds bloom like honey plants
The almond honey plant blooms in March-April before the leaves bloom. The duration of flowering of an almond flower is 3-4 days, the duration of flowering of almond plantations is 6-8 days. Of the fruit trees, the common almond is the earliest honey plant and provides nectar and pollen to bees.
Honey productivity of almonds
The nectar secreted by 100 flowers per day contains about 6 mg of sugar. The honey productivity of common almonds is 6-10 kg per 1 ha. In the European part, low almond is found - a shrub 1.5 m high. The flowers are pink. Blooms at the end of April, 10-12 days. Well visited by bees to collect nectar and pollen.
The honey productivity of almonds is low up to 30-35 kg per 1 ha. Both species provide bees with early maintenance honey flow.
Pollination of almonds by bees
Almond pollination is carried out by insects. Honey bees are often used to pollinate almonds, which significantly increases the yield. Bee pollination of almonds in California is considered the largest pollination project in the world.
Almonds as a nut crop
Honey plant almond is a nut-bearing crop. Almond kernels contain 40-60% non-drying oil and 20-30% protein. According to the taste of the kernels, sweet and bitter almonds are distinguished, although morphologically these forms are the same.
Sweet almonds predominate in cultivated plantings. Its kernels are a valuable food product. They are eaten fresh, fried, salted, and used in the making of cakes, pastries, chocolate, and many other confectionery products.
Almond oil is used in the food, perfume, and medical industries. It serves as a solvent for camphor administered by injection, as a basis for medicinal and cosmetic ointments (it softens the skin and has an anti-inflammatory effect), is prescribed internally as a laxative, and in the form of an emulsion as an enveloping agent. The cake remaining after squeezing out the oil is a nutritious feed for animals.
Almond shells are used to flavor and improve the color of cognacs, liqueurs, and wines; activated carbon is made from it. Pericarp ash contains a lot of potassium, so it was used in soap making. Almond trunks are harvested for gum, which is used in the textile industry.
Honey plant almond is used as a drought-resistant rootstock for peaches and apricots.
The almond honey plant is very decorative and can be planted in populated areas.
