BACKGROUND Nuts appear to have cardiovascular benefits but their effect in diabetic patients is unclear. OBJECTIVE The objective was to assess effects of almond-enriched diets on insulin sensitivity and lipids in patients with normoglycemia or type 2 diabetes. DESIGN Study 1 assessed the effect of almonds on insulin sensitivity in 20 free-living healthy volunteers who received 100 g almonds...

In this study, the sterol contents of almond kernel oils collected from naturally growing almond trees in Mersin province were determined. Generally, the sterol contents of almond oil samples varied depending on almond types. The major sterols in almond oils wereß-sitosterol, 5-avenasterol and campesterol, followed by 5,24-stigmastadienol, stigmasterol, sitostanol, and cholesterol. W...

Welcome to the seventh edition of “All About Almonds”, Almond Bud Initiation and Development. Fact sheets are distributed to almond growers via email and fax, in addition to being made available for download from the levy payers’ access page on the ABA website: www.australianalmonds.com.au (follow links to the login section of the “industry” page). The information provided in these fact sheets ...

Aflatoxin contamination of nuts is an increasing concern to the consumer's health. Portugal is a big producer of almonds, but there is no scientific knowledge on the safety of those nuts, in terms of mycotoxins. The aim of this paper was to study the incidence of aflatoxigenic fungi and aflatoxin contamination of 21 samples of Portuguese almonds, and its evolution throughout the various stages ...

Severe decline of almond trees has recently been observed in several orchards on the island of Mallorca (Balearic Islands, western Mediterranean Sea). However, the identity of the causal agents has not yet been investigated. Between August 2008 and June 2010, wood samples from branches of almond trees showing internal necroses and brown to black vascular streaking were collected in the Llevant ...

The grass sharpshooter, Draeculacephala minerva Ball (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae), is a very common and often abundant grass-feeding leafhopper in California. Its population dynamics and ability to transmit Xylella fastidiosa were monitored over a 2-yr period in California's San Joaquin Valley. Collections of individuals from natural populations in irrigated pastures and alfalfa, Medicago savita L...

Xylella fastidiosa causes disease in many commercial crops, including almond leaf scorch (ALS) disease in susceptible almond (Prunus dulcis). In this study, genetic diversity and population structure of X. fastidiosa associated with ALS disease were evaluated. Isolates obtained from two almond orchards in Fresno and Kern County in the San Joaquin Valley of California were analyzed for two succe...

Self-incompatibility is one of the most important difficulties in almond production which reduce fruit set dramatically and makes orchard management difficult. Therefore, breeding almond to produce self-compatible genotypes is very important. In this research identification and screening of 86 almond progenies obtained from selfing Touno after the self-pollination by PCR reaction with specific ...

Nemaguard has been the workhorse rootstock of the California almond industry for many decades. It is well adapted to the well-drained, non-calcareous loam and sandy loam soils common throughout the San Joaquin Valley. Nemaguard is vigorous, immune to rootknot nematode, compatible with all almond varieties, doesn’t sucker much, has decent anchorage and is easy to grow at the nursery. However, th...