Description
The pistachio tree is a small tree up to 7m high with a wide and open crown. It has strong apical growth, but also abundant branching. It develops slowly, but it is a very long-lived tree. Its leaves are compound, pinnate with 3-5 leaflets and dark green in color. Its flowers are dioecious and of anemophilic pollination, small and without petals. Its fruit is a drupe of variable size up to 2.5cm, oval and with a hard and smooth shell.
In Spain approximately 30,000 hectares of pistachios are cultivated, which produce about 8,200 tons of pistachios. This crop is mainly concentrated in the region of Castilla-La Mancha, grouping practically all the production of the Spanish state.
Soil
PH
Salinity
Quality
Temperature
Pistachio grows optimally in dry environments with a continental climate, such as almond and olive. It tolerates cold temperatures in winter and frosty springs well. For optimal production you need long cold winters with 300-1200 hours of winter cold and long, warm and dry summers.
Irrigation
Irrigation properties
Varieties
In Spain, the varieties commonly used are the male pollinator variety Peters and the female variety Kerman. To improve their adaptation to soils with more water, different patterns are used to graft the plants. These are also from the Pistacia family, but are better adapted to local soils.