Dryland fruit orchards: what to consider

Dryland fruit trees are species adapted to growing without regular irrigation, depending mainly on the rainfall available in each area. Almond and carob are two of the most characteristic examples in Spain, especially in areas with a dry Mediterranean climate where irrigated fruit crops would not be viable without a significant investment in irrigation infrastructure.

This type of crop differs clearly from irrigated fruit growing in its management logic: since it does not depend on an irrigation system, the property requires less water infrastructure, but in exchange production depends much more directly on each year's rainfall and on the soil's capacity to retain the available moisture.

These species tend to appear on dryland properties of larger extent than those of an intensive irrigated orchard, precisely because production per unit of surface area is lower and more irregular, which has historically been offset by cultivating a larger area. It is worth keeping this logic in mind when comparing properties of different sizes: a larger dryland fruit-tree property is not necessarily a more ambitious project than a much smaller irrigated one — it is simply a different way of approaching the crop.

In addition to almond and carob, some areas also have other dryland-adapted species, such as certain fig varieties, on properties that combine several of these crops across different plots depending on the aspect, slope or soil quality of each area. This diversity within a single property can be an advantage from a risk-management standpoint, since it avoids relying entirely on a single crop in a climatically unfavourable year.

As with any woody crop, the age of the trees shapes the project: a young almond or carob grove still developing will take time to reach full production, while mature trees can offer more stable production, though they may also show signs of poor management or neglect if they have not been maintained regularly. Checking the general condition of the trees — trunk, canopy, presence of dead branches or visible signs of pests or disease — with the help of an agronomist is advisable before deciding, especially if the buyer has no prior experience with this type of crop.

Planting density and spacing also affect the type of management that is possible: a traditional, wide spacing, typical of older plantations, does not always accommodate the same harvesting machinery as a more modern, orderly plantation, which can affect both harvesting costs and the viability of certain projects.

In the case of almond, there are traditional, later-flowering varieties and more modern, early-flowering ones, each with its own advantages and drawbacks in relation to the risk of late frosts, a relevant climatic factor in many dryland areas. If the seller knows the specific variety planted, that information is useful for better understanding the expected behaviour of the trees, although it should not be translated into any specific production forecast, which depends on each year's conditions.

When inspecting the trees, it is also worth noting the uniformity of the planting: an almond grove with trees of very different ages, perhaps because gaps have been replanted over the years, will have less uniform productive behaviour than one planted all at once. This is not necessarily a problem, but it is worth bearing in mind when assessing the property as a whole, rather than focusing only on the most vigorous specimens seen during the visit.

The production of a dryland orchard depends largely on the rain received at the key moments of its growth cycle, which means yield can vary considerably from one year to the next without this reflecting any problem with the crop itself. This variability is inherent to dryland farming, not an exception, and it should be accepted as part of the project itself rather than expecting constant production season after season.

For this reason, any historical production figure mentioned for a dryland fruit-tree property should be understood as referring to specific years, each with its own climatic conditions, and never as a fixed figure representative of any future year. Where this information is available, it is preferable to look at several seasons, including years with lower rainfall, to get a fuller picture of that property's actual variability.

Some dryland fruit-tree properties incorporate occasional supplementary irrigation, applied at critical moments in the cycle to reduce the impact of the most severe droughts, without turning the crop into a fully irrigated one. If a property has this kind of partial infrastructure, it is worth clarifying exactly what role it plays — occasional support or genuine dependence — before assuming any specific level of production.

The year-to-year variability of dryland farming also has a positive side from a management perspective: since there is no irrigation system to maintain, the fixed costs of a dryland fruit-tree property tend to be more predictable than those of an irrigated one, even though the income associated with production is less predictable. This balance between stable costs and variable income is a characteristic feature of this type of project that is best understood from the outset, not discovered season after season.

Access to the property and the condition of the internal tracks are especially relevant on dryland fruit-tree properties of some size, since they tend to be located in areas of varied terrain where access can be more limited than on riverside or flat-land properties. It is worth checking the condition of these access routes under different conditions, not just on a favourable day.

It is also worth checking the soil for signs of erosion, especially on sloping properties, since dryland management — with less continuous ground cover than an intensive irrigated crop — can be more vulnerable to this problem if it has not been managed carefully over the years.

Finally, as with any property with a woody crop, it is worth confirming whether there are any active agricultural commitments linked to some form of aid on that land, a matter covered in more detail in this platform's guide cluster on the CAP.

Finally, it is worth checking the condition of any existing auxiliary structures, such as a shed for tools or machinery, and whether the land has some basic water point, even if it is not intended for regular irrigation — useful, for example, for occasional tasks or for the trees' own needs during especially severe droughts, if the project envisages that kind of exceptional support.