Primorskij
The nut the SKUAST-Kashmir trial rated best: heaviest nut and kernel, longest nut and kernel, highest shelling of nine types (57.58% and 52.05%), papery shell. It flowers late and blooms the longest, nine days.
Quick facts
- Crop
- Almond (Badam)
- Type
- Grafted planting material (imported cultivar)
- Season
- All seasons
- Maturity period
- Late flowering; the trial trees at Srinagar were planted in 1988, and no grafted first-bearing age for Kashmir has been published
- Expected yield
- No yield figure published for India. Shelling 57.58% and 52.05%, the highest of nine types in both years of the SKUAST-Kashmir nut trial
- Suitable soil
- Deep, well-drained temperate orchard loam
- Release
- An imported cultivar evaluated at SKUAST-Kashmir; no Indian release notice found
About this variety
Primorskij is an imported almond cultivar evaluated in the Kashmir valley. It is one of three exotic types, with Pranyaj and Merced, in the SKUAST-Kashmir nut and kernel trial at the Dryland Agriculture Research Station, Srinagar, on trees planted in 1988. It topped that trial on size and recovery. Nut weight was 2.24 g and 2.19 g and nut length 39.88 mm and 40.69 mm. Kernel weight was 1.29 g and 1.26 g, kernel length 28.62 mm and 29.04 mm. Shelling was 57.58% and 52.05%, the highest of all nine types in both years. The shell is papery, and both kernel and shell are of intermediate colour. The authors concluded that Primorskij performed best under the temperate conditions of Kashmir. In the floral study of the same nine types it was the last to reach early pink bud, on 11 and 12 March. It stayed in bloom the longest, nine days, and was among the last to drop its petals, on 5 and 6 April. Its pollen was the strongest tested, with 96% germinating in the laboratory in the first year. No Indian release notice and no yield figure has been published for it.
Should you pick this variety?
Choose Primorskij if you sell kernel by weight. In the two-year nut and kernel trial at the Dryland Agriculture Research Station, SKUAST-Kashmir, it gave the highest shelling of nine types in both years, 57.58% and 52.05%. It also had the heaviest nut (2.24 g and 2.19 g), the heaviest kernel (1.29 g and 1.26 g) and a papery shell. The authors concluded that Primorskij performed best of the nine under Kashmir conditions. Do not choose it if you want an early crop or a documented yield: no per-tree or per-hectare figure has been published for it in India, and it is one of the late-flowering types, with full bloom near the end of March. Choose Waris, Pranyaj or Shalimar instead if you want a cultivar CITH Srinagar names among its most promising for commercial planting.
Key characteristics
Sowing & cultivation
- Spacing6–7 m, with a late-flowering pollinizer in the same block
- FertilizerA balanced NPK dose while young, moving to a higher, bloom-and-post-harvest-split dose once bearing (see the crop guide for the full schedule)
Soil & climate
Soil
- Suitable soil
- Deep, well-drained loam; pH 6.0–7.5
Climate
- Climate
- The SKUAST-Kashmir Dryland Agriculture Research Station orchard sits at about 1,640 m (34°05′ N, 74°50′ E), with cold weather from November to February.
Yield & maturity
Maturity period
Late flowering; the trial trees at Srinagar were planted in 1988, and no grafted first-bearing age for Kashmir has been published
Expected yield
No yield figure published for India. Shelling 57.58% and 52.05%, the highest of nine types in both years of the SKUAST-Kashmir nut trial
Actual yield depends on sowing time, soil, irrigation, weather, seed quality and crop management.
Pest & disease considerations
Major diseases
Major pests
Advantages & considerations
Why farmers may choose it
- Highest shelling of nine types in both years of the SKUAST-Kashmir trial, 57.58% and 52.05%.
- Heaviest nut (2.24 g and 2.19 g) and heaviest kernel (1.29 g and 1.26 g) of the nine, with a papery shell.
- Longest bloom of the nine, nine days, and the strongest pollen, 96% germination in the first year.
- Late flowering, which keeps the blossom away from the mid-March frost that hits Makhdoom.
Things to consider
- No yield figure has been published for Primorskij in India, per tree or per hectare, so the trial tells you about nut quality, not about tonnage.
- No Indian release notice exists for it, so it is an introduction under evaluation and not a notified variety.
- Almond cultivars tested at CITH Srinagar were all fully self-incompatible, so it needs a compatible partner that flowers at the same time.
- With IXL pollen it set 23.87% fruit in the CITH study, below Pranyaj (34.47%) and close to Waris (25.82%).
- CITH Srinagar does not name it among its three most promising cultivars for commercial planting.
Suitable regions
An imported cultivar evaluated in the Kashmir valley at the Dryland Agriculture Research Station of SKUAST-Kashmir.
- Jammu and Kashmir
What the highest shelling percentage is actually worth to you
Shelling percentage is the share of kernel in nut weight. Primorskij gave 57.58% in the first year and 52.05% in the second at the Dryland Agriculture Research Station, the best of nine types both times. In plain numbers, 100 kg of in-shell nuts gave about 52 to 58 kg of kernel.
Compare that with the others in the same trial. Pranyaj gave 57.52% and 51.06%, Merced 49.27% and 54.05%, Waris 49.05% and 47.50%, Shalimar 48.60% and 50.27%, Makhdoom 39.59% and 45.07%, and the hard-shelled local selection KD-3 only 28.74% and 33.61%. Against Makhdoom, Primorskij returns roughly 10 kg more kernel from every 100 kg of nuts; against KD-3, more than 20 kg.
The catch is that shelling says nothing about how many kilograms the tree gives. No published figure exists for Primorskij yields in India. So treat it as a quality variety for a kernel buyer, plant a few trees first, and weigh both the in-shell crop and the kernel from your own trees for two or three seasons before you commit a block.
Can you save seed from this crop?
This one is raised from planting material — suckers, grafts, cuttings or tubers — not from a seed packet. Take it from a registered nursery or a government farm, so the plant is true to the variety and free of disease.
How it compares with other varieties
Every Almond (Badam) variety with a page on this site, side by side. The row for this page is highlighted.
| Variety | Best for | Starts bearing | Yield | States |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IXL | Kashmir orchards that already have IXL and need to choose partners that actually pollinate it | Trial trees at CITH Srinagar were fruiting at 5 to 6 years of age; no grafted first-bearing figure for Kashmir was found | No Kashmir yield figure found. Open-pollinated fruit set averaged 26.27% over two years at CITH Srinagar (Sharma and Sharma, 2011) | Jammu and Kashmir |
| Makhdoom | Kashmir farmers on frost-free, sheltered sites who want the best-tasting kernel and a strong pollen donor | Trial trees at CITH Srinagar were fruiting at 5 to 6 years of age; no grafted first-bearing figure for Kashmir was found | No yield figure found. Shelling was 39.59% and 45.07% in two years (SKUAST-Kashmir trial). Open-pollinated fruit set was low, 17.96% on average and 5.77% in 2007 after a frost and snow (CITH Srinagar) | Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh |
| Merced | Kashmir farmers who want a papery-shelled, light-kernel almond with high shelling and will plant Pranyaj beside it | Trial trees at CITH Srinagar were fruiting at 5 to 6 years of age; no grafted first-bearing figure for Kashmir was found | No Kashmir yield figure found. Shelling was 49.27% in the first year and 54.05% in the second, the highest of nine cultivars in the second year (SKUAST-Kashmir trial) | Jammu and Kashmir |
| Nonpareil (California Paper Shell) | Kashmir farmers who want a CITH-recommended cultivar and will plant Pranyaj, Primorskij or Waris beside it | Trial trees at CITH Srinagar were fruiting at 5 to 6 years of age; no grafted first-bearing figure for Kashmir was found | No Kashmir yield figure found. Open-pollinated fruit set averaged 26.53% over two years at CITH Srinagar (Sharma and Sharma, 2011) | Jammu and Kashmir |
| Pranyaj | Kashmir farmers who want a CITH-recommended cultivar with high fruit set and high shelling, planted beside Nonpareil | Trial trees at CITH Srinagar were fruiting at 5 to 6 years of age; no grafted first-bearing figure for Kashmir was found | No per-tree yield figure found. Open-pollinated fruit set averaged 30.96%, second of nine cultivars, and shelling was 57.52% and 51.06% (CITH Srinagar; SKUAST-Kashmir) | Jammu and Kashmir |
| Primorskijthis page | Kashmir farmers who sell kernel and want the highest shelling of the cultivars tested there, and who can plant a late-flowering partner beside it | Late flowering; the trial trees at Srinagar were planted in 1988, and no grafted first-bearing age for Kashmir has been published | No yield figure published for India. Shelling 57.58% and 52.05%, the highest of nine types in both years of the SKUAST-Kashmir nut trial | Jammu and Kashmir |
| Shalimar | Kashmir farmers who sell on eating quality and want a papery shell, on a sheltered slope with Waris nearby | Trial trees at CITH Srinagar were fruiting at 5 to 6 years of age; no grafted first-bearing figure for Kashmir was found | No yield figure found. Shelling was 48.60% and 50.27% in two years, with the top taste score of nine cultivars (SKUAST-Kashmir trial); open-pollinated fruit set averaged 25.02% (CITH Srinagar) | Jammu and Kashmir |
| Waris | Kashmir farmers who want a CITH-recommended main crop and will plant Shalimar, Primorskij or Pranyaj beside it | Trial trees at CITH Srinagar were fruiting at 5 to 6 years of age; no grafted first-bearing figure for Kashmir was found | 2.41 kg a tree in 2011 and 5.98 kg a tree in 2012 (2.67 and 6.64 t/ha at 3 x 3 m) under the best fertigation treatment at CITH Srinagar, on trees planted in 2002 (Kumar and Ahmed, 2014). Shelling 49.05% and 47.50% (SKUAST-Kashmir trial) | Jammu and Kashmir |
Tools for this crop
The numbers you need next: how much seed to buy, whether the lot germinates, what the fertilizer bill looks like and what Almond (Badam) is selling for.
- Seed Rate CalculatorHow much seed your Almond (Badam) plot needs, corrected for the germination of the lot you bought.
- Seed Variety FinderFilter every Almond (Badam) variety on this site by state, season, duration and soil.
- Fertilizer CalculatorTurn the NPK recommendation for Almond (Badam) into bags of urea, DAP and MOP for your field size.
- Crop Profit CalculatorPut your seed, labour and input costs against the yield you expect from this variety.
- Mandi Price CheckerToday's Almond (Badam) rate in your nearest mandi, before you fix a price with a trader.
Subsidy and government support
Schemes that help with the cost of Almond (Badam) seed or planting material. Rules and the application route are on each scheme page.
Frequently asked questions
When does Primorskij flower, and which variety can pollinate it?
It is the latest starter of the nine types studied at the Dryland Agriculture Research Station, SKUAST-Kashmir: early pink bud on 11 and 12 March, against 20 to 22 February for KD-3, KD-5 and Makhdoom. It then stays in bloom the longest, nine days in both years, and drops its petals last, on 5 and 6 April along with Merced. So its partner must also be late. Merced, which reached full bloom on 31 March and 2 April, and Pranyaj, which began blooming on 27 March, overlap with it. Makhdoom, which finishes flowering by 18 March, does not. In the CITH pollination study, IXL pollen gave Primorskij 23.87% fruit set. Walk both varieties in your own orchard during the first flowering year and note the dates, because bloom moves with the season and the altitude.
Why is Primorskij called the best in that trial if there is no yield figure?
Because that trial measured nut and kernel quality, not tonnage. It recorded nut weight, nut length and breadth, kernel weight, kernel length and breadth, kernel and shell colour, shell hardness, shelling percentage and a taste panel. Primorskij led on nut weight, nut length, kernel weight, kernel length and shelling in both years, so the authors concluded it performed best under Kashmir conditions. That is a statement about the nut in your hand, not about kilograms a tree. For yield you still need your own records or a yield trial, and none has been published for this cultivar in India.
Where do I get true-to-name Primorskij planting material?
Start with the research stations that hold the mother trees: the Dryland Agriculture Research Station and the Division of Fruit Science at SKUAST-Kashmir, Shalimar, and CITH Srinagar. Primorskij is an introduction under evaluation, not a notified variety with a seed chain behind it, so a private nursery label is not proof. Ask for the variety name on the invoice, ask which mother block the scion wood came from, and ask to see a bearing tree. If a nursery cannot answer those three questions, buy a cultivar that CITH does recommend, such as Waris, Pranyaj or Shalimar.
Is a papery shell good or bad for selling?
It depends on who buys. A papery shell cracks easily, which suits a kernel buyer and a household that cracks by hand, and it is part of why the shelling percentage is high. The same thin shell gives the nut less protection from birds, insects and rough handling, so pick on time, dry the nuts properly and store them in bags that are not thrown about. In the SKUAST-Kashmir trial Merced and Shalimar also had papery shells, Pranyaj and Waris soft shells, Makhdoom and KD-5 semi-soft, and KD-3 and KD-6 hard.
Sourced from: Majid et al., Nut and kernel characteristics of exotic and indigenous almond genotypes under temperate conditions of Kashmir valley, Int. J. Curr. Microbiol. App. Sci. 9(1), 2020, 1914-1919 (DARS, SKUAST-Kashmir), Majid et al., Floral biology of exotic and indigenous almond genotypes under temperate conditions of Kashmir valley, Int. J. Curr. Microbiol. App. Sci. 10(1), 2021, 2807-2813 (DARS, SKUAST-Kashmir), Compatibility studies in exotic and indigenous almond varieties/selections under temperate conditions of Kashmir valley — Current Journal of Applied Science and Technology 39(3), 2020 (CITH Srinagar). editorial policy.