Almond Orchards in Libya: Best Practices, Key Challenges & Practical Solutions

No Libyan recommendations on almond cultivars, rootstocks or spacing were found. An FAO inventory published in 1997 listed 27 almond entries in the Agricultural Research Center's collection, among them Avola, Rachele, Nonpareil and Texas, and the 1996 national report listed 7 almond landraces or old varieties then still used by farmers and 25 introduced varieties in field genebanks; a 2017 study described 18 genotypes grown at one research station.

Most Libyan research found on almond pests and diseases comes from the Jabal al Akhdar, the northeastern uplands with Libya's highest rainfall, 250 to 600 mm a year, where a 2020 study places intensive cultivation on flat plains and valley floors of a largely rocky, stony plateau. A 2024 news report also names almonds among the crops a village in the Nafusa Mountains was once known for. On 15 and 16 February 2021 the Jabal al Akhdar had snow and nights near 0 °C (WMO).

Guidance from Spain notes that late-blooming cultivars aim to avoid late-winter and early-spring frost and that efficient pollination is essential to obtain a crop. Buy trees from nurseries free of root-knot nematodes, which cost many Libyan nurseries 16 to 100% of their peach, almond and grape seedlings in 1979 and 1980, and plan rows, headlands and trunk height for shakers and catching frames before planting.

Capnodis tenebrionis has been studied in the Jabal al Akhdar: a 2021 to 2023 study near Mansura surveyed almond, apricot, peach and nectarine, found apricot the preferred host and recorded adults from the end of spring, with the highest numbers in June. In September 2025 the Agricultural Research Center's director of research said a stone-fruit stem borer had caused large numbers of almond trees to dry out and die in Jabal al Akhdar orchards, including around Shahat.

Bacterial spot, caused by Xanthomonas campestris pv. pruni (now named X. arboricola pv. pruni), was widespread on almond and other stone fruit in the Jabal al Akhdar in a 1997 survey, published in 2003, which also found the bacterium overwintering in flower buds and staying infective in diseased leaves for eight months. A 2008 study recorded it on sweet almond in several areas of the region.

No Libyan almond irrigation guidance was found. A 2020 study groups the Jabal al Akhdar's orchards with rain-fed farming in one land-cover class and notes irrigation growing with new wells up to 2017, and guidance from Spain notes that most Mediterranean almond orchards are not irrigated and rely on winter and spring rain. For care work, the ID DAVID SURFEED spreads solid manure, the ID-XL weeds the tree row, the Mañez Lozano Mega Twister S6 sprays tall, dense canopies and the ID DAVID ID-REX disc pruner makes lateral and topping cuts.

No source found describes how almonds are harvested or dried in Libya, or gives Libyan harvest months. University of California guidance advises harvesting as soon as the nuts can be shaken off well, when all nuts at 1.8 to 2.4 m in the canopy have reached hull split. In orchards planted for machines on suitable ground, mechanized harvesting can bring the crop in on time, with less risk of nuts deteriorating while they wait.

June to August is dry at all three stations with monthly data: on average 0.0 to 1.3 mm of rain a month on the coast (WMO, 1961 to 1990) and 0.5 to 1.8 mm at Shahat in the Jabal al Akhdar (1963 to 1999). September brings the first rains and, at times, storms: Storm Daniel set a 24-hour record of 414.1 mm at one Jabal al Akhdar station on 10 and 11 September 2023 (WMO). This guide therefore shows ground drying with the Flory CP87 only for harvests finished by the end of August, with prompt pickup or catching frames after that.

Flory harvesting machinery is available in Libya through OVE Europe for both systems. On the ground, the VR700 Shaker, V62 Sweeper, CP87 Conditioner and 8772 Harvester work with the 1500 Conveyor Cart and ST14 Shuttle. Off the ground, the Flory COE C7 Shaker and L2 Receiver catch the almonds in a frame around the trunk, the Flory COE B8 Cart and VS25 Shuttle carry them, and the 4840 Field Elevator loads trailers in both systems.

No source found describes almond hulling, drying, cracking or storage in Libya. In this workflow, almonds dried on the orchard floor arrive with dry hulls and are dried further only if needed, while promptly picked or frame-caught almonds are hulled first and then dried in the shell, as the Codex code of practice for tree nuts advises hulling as soon as possible after harvest.

Libyan Standard No. 1107 for whole sweet almond kernels was adopted in February 2026, and a 2023 Libyan study cites Libyan Standard No. 597 of 2015 on maximum aflatoxin limits in food and feed; neither text was found, so their almond requirements are not known. Regulation (EU) 2023/915 allows 8.0 µg/kg of aflatoxin B1 and 10.0 µg/kg in total in almonds sold to consumers or used in food, and 12.0 and 15.0 µg/kg in almonds to be sorted first.

Libya buys far more almonds than it sells: in 2025, the partners that report trade data recorded 8,694.6 t of shelled almonds shipped to Libya, 4,709.5 t from Türkiye and 3,148.5 t from the United States, while in 2021 to 2025 they bought only 20.4 t from Libya (UN Comtrade via WITS; Eurostat). Jessee, whose processing lines OVE Europe supplies, builds hulling, drying, in-shell cleaning and sizing, and shelling systems; its Airlegs nut cleaner was developed for the almond industry.

For general information only. Information may become outdated and does not replace site-specific professional advice. Consult a qualified agronomist and confirm equipment suitability with OVE before acting.