Pistachio graft

Last August we visited our cousin Juan Ángel who was in one of his fields where a few years ago he began the adventure of planting pistachios... he was carrying out grafting work. As we have already told you before, we are dedicated to the in olive tree growing, so pistachio is a fairly unknown crop for us.

When you plant pistachios, you have to choose between grafted and non-grafted plants... basically the big difference is the number of years required to be in production and, consequently, the price of each kind of plant. A grafted tree will be in production several years non-grafted plants. If we focus on price, we have these options:

• Rafted tree: € 15.
• 1 year old ungrafted plant: € 0.8.
• 2-year-old non-grafted plant: € 2.
• Non-grafted plant with UCB1 rootstock: € 7.

Regarding the rootstock used, the most common options are cornicabra and UCB1. Cornicabra rootstock is much cheaper. However, in recent years the most widely used is the UCB1 rootstock.

Concerning on pistachio graft, in our area grafting pistachio tasks are carried out, between the months of July and September and it is necessary to look for the best moment of sap in the tree. It will be essential to review the grafts after a few days to know the success. To be grafted, the tree must be at least 18 months old, or even older. Other than that, they should have a trunk thickness of 12 mm or more. The buds used for grafting are taken from older trees already in production or can also be purchased from garden centres. Juan Ángel likes to graft at a height that stays within the protector, because when the new stem starts to grow, it is always easier to guide.

I conclusion, the final aim is to obtain a pistachio tree of the Kerman, Larnaka or Sirora variety, which about 3 years after grafting will begin to produce pistachios in more or less important quantities.

Versión en español.

The pistachios planting framework

It's time to plant the pistachio trees in La Mancha. Our cousin Juan Ángel, who is very fond of this crop, asked us to help him define the planting framework for his new pistachio plantation and we did so without hesitation, we enjoy these things. Using the auto-guide Cerea we were able to do the job without problems, with a planting framework of 7x7 meters. First it is marked in one direction and when it is finished, we mark it in perpendicular direction (90º)... Cerea has a pattern called "2 directions" which is ideal for these jobs.

Pistachio is destined to be the new Eden of agriculture. In the agricultural news or talking to politicians related to the agricultural world, everyone indicates that pistachio is the revelation crop that will be the most profitable in the years to come. With this premise, our cousin Juan Ángel has decided to transform his entire farm into a pistachio farm on almost 80% of his fields.

We haven't planted any, because we don't have it as clear as he does. He will have to wait many years to be able to have a considerable production in addition to making an important initial investment and during all these years above all, and on the other hand when his trees are in full production we do not know how the price of pistachio will be. We hope that it will be as it is currently predicted, but we are not sure. We will see it as the years go by.

Finally, we would like to take this opportunity to wish you Merry Christmas and a happy new year 2020. Next year may be a year of abundant rain and good harvests, but especially it come full of health so that we can continue to enjoy this passion for the agriculture that all of us share and enjoy.

Versión en español.