Orchard Establishment

Water Essentials
70 - 90% water
■ Functions ■ Chemical reactions
in the ■ Solvent for chemicals
plant ■ Transport media
■ Coolant via
transpiration
■ Stabilize temperatures

HORT 319 - Temperate Fruit and Nut Production

 Water stress: Drought
■ Smaller fruit
■ Growth
■ Less fruit buds
reduction
■ Wilting ■ Double fruit

■ Extract water ■ Blind nodes

from fruit

HORT 319 - Temperate Fruit and Nut Production

Water stress: Excess water

■ Lack of oxygen in root zone

■ Roots can not function
– Poor nutrient uptake
– Plant can wilt
■ Disease problems
– Phytophthora
– Verticillium
HORT 319 - Temperate Fruit and Nut Production
Water stress: Excess water
■ Rain at “wrong” time
■ At pit hardening
– Split pits of stone fruit
■ Near harvest
– Fruit cracking Split pit in peach
– Fruit with little flavor
■ Disease
– Brown rot
– Scab
– Bacterial leaf spot

Brown rot on peach

HORT 319 - Temperate Fruit and Nut Production
 Water Requirements of Trees
■ Evapotranspiration ■ Quick estimation
– Temperature techniques
– Cloudiness – 2 x tree diameter (m) x
■ Class A evaporation (mm)
– Wind, humidity – 60% -70% of Class A pan
– Measured via class A
pan evaporation
■ Mature pecan
■ Tree size – 190 gal/tree
– Canopy size as ■ Mature apple or peach
estimate of leaf area – 40 - 60 gal/day

HORT 319 - Temperate Fruit and Nut Production

Class “A” Pan
■ Class “A” Pan is 4’ diameter pan with 10”
water

HORT 319 - Temperate Fruit and Nut Production

 Irrigation in Texas: Pecans
■ Supplemental basis
in many orchards ■ How much per tree?
– 55 acre inches
– 27,154 gal/acre inch
■ Apply 30 to 72
– 1,493,470 gal/ac/yr(225
inches per year
days)
– 6,638 gal/ac/day/35
■ 1” to 2” per week trees/acre
■ 190 gal/tree/day

HORT 319 - Temperate Fruit and Nut Production

Irrigation Options
■ Flood irrigation
■ Level ground
■ Inexpensive to install
■ Inefficient
– Percolation
– Apply to whole field
■ Requires large water flow

HORT 319 - Temperate Fruit and Nut Production

Surface irrigation (flooding)
■ The rule for pecan
orchards in the
irrigated west
■ Moderately heavy
soils
– Silt loams
– Clay loams
■ River bottom
■ <1% slopes

HORT 319 - Temperate Fruit and Nut Production

Dikes
■ Contain water
Slope: 0.1-0.5%
■ Parallel to rows
■ Not too high to allow
orchard operations

Slope: 0-0.5%

HORT 319 - Temperate Fruit and Nut Production

■ The greater the cross-
slope (row length) is,
the closer the borders
need to be
■ On new orchards, only
the active root zone is
irrigated
■ As trees grow, border
dikes are moved to the
middle

HORT 319 - Temperate Fruit and Nut Production

Advantages of surface
irrigation
■ Low initial cost:
– Water supply development
– Soil leveling
■ Salinity can be better managed
– (salt may accumulate on dikes)
■ More compatible with harvesting and
mgmt practices

HORT 319 - Temperate Fruit and Nut Production

Disadvantages of surface irrigation

■ Need to be carefully designed

– Consult engineers
– Know soil hydraulics
■ High water capacity required (at least
twice that of a sprinkler system)
■ Energetically relatively inefficient (more
energy required to pump water)

HORT 319 - Temperate Fruit and Nut Production

Disadvantages of surface irrigation

■ Labor intensive:
– Pumps and valves need to be operated manually
(skills required)
■ Difficult to estimate right amount of water
to apply
■ Upper end gets more water than lower end
■ Surface free of vegetation to allow fast
movement of water

HORT 319 - Temperate Fruit and Nut Production

Irrigation Options
■ Furrow irrigation
■ Level ground
■ Inexpensive to install
■ Inefficient
– Percolation
– Apply to less area
■ Less water flow needed
■ Higher labor cost

HORT 319 - Temperate Fruit and Nut Production

Typical Okanagan orchard under furrow irrigation

HORT 319 - Temperate Fruit and Nut Production

Very sandy
soil

Heavier soil
Silt or clay
loams

HORT 319 - Temperate Fruit and Nut Production

Irrigation Options:
Sprinkler Irrigation
■ Advantages ■ Disadvantages
– No need for level ■ High initial and
land annual cost
– Less loss to ■ Good water quality
percolation needed
■ Dependable energy
source needed
■ May spread disease

HORT 319 - Temperate Fruit and Nut Production

 Irrigation Options:
Drip or Microsprinkler Irrigation
■ Advantages ■ Efficient use of water
■ Less runoff
■ No need for level
■ Less deep percolation
land
■ Less area wetted
■ Ease of orchard
entry

HORT 319 - Temperate Fruit and Nut Production

Irrigation Options:
Drip or Microsprinkler Irrigation
■ Disadvantages
■ High installation cost
■ High maintenance cost
■ Dependable energy
source needed

HORT 319 - Temperate Fruit and Nut Production

Irrigation Options:
Drip or Microsprinkler Irrigation
■ Emitter clogging
– Particulates: sand, silt, clay
– Precipitates with Fe or Ca
– Organic growth, algae
■ Salt buildup on fringes and
surface of wetting pattern
■ Water distribution is critical
– Drippers vs. microsprinklers

HORT 319 - Temperate Fruit and Nut Production

Orchard Floor Management

Cover Crops and Weed Control

 Cover Crops:
Advantages and Disadvantages
■ Improve
– Soil structure
■ Modify orchard
– Fertility temperature
– Water infiltration – Best: bare soil
■ Prevent erosion – Shredded, moist: 1-2 F
■ Pest/Beneficials colder
– Rodents
– Disked dry soil: 2 F colder
– Alternate hosts for pests – Cover crop: 1-4 F colder
– Alternate hosts for beneficials ■ Compete with crop

HORT 319 - Temperate Fruit and Nut Production

Cover Crops Compete with Crop
P ecan tree grow th

50
Trunk size
(cm2)

Weed free

Cover crop
0
1 2 3
Tree age (years)
HORT 319 - Temperate Fruit and Nut Production
Weeds Compete with Crop
Effect of Weed Free Area on Tree Growth

100
80
% Growth

60
40
20
0
0 2 4 6 9 13
Weed Free Area (m2)
Reduce growth 60%
Weeds use 14” to 25” water per year
Welker and Glenn, 1985. HortScience 20:417-418

HORT 319 - Temperate Fruit and Nut Production

Control Alternatives for Weeds
■ Cultivation ■ Mulching
– Root damage ■ Advantages
■ Mowing – Improve soil structure
– Maintains soil moisture
– Weeds still compete
– Moderates soil temperature
– Good erosion control
– Decrease erosion
– Pick your own
■ Disadvantages
– High cost/labor

HORT 319 - Temperate Fruit and Nut Production

 Pecan tree growth with mulch
200

180
40
160 35

Trunk diam. (mm)

140 30
Tree height (cm)

120 25
100
20

No mulch
No mulch

2 meters
80
2 meters

1 meter
15
1 meter

60
10
40

20
5
0 0

Data from Smith et al., 2000, HortScience 35:192-195

HORT 319 - Temperate Fruit and Nut Production

Control Alternatives for Weeds
■ Chemical control ■ Types of herbicides
– Usually a strip – Pre-emergents
around the tree – Contact or post-
■ Chemical mowing emergents
– Low herbicide
level to stunt
weeds

HORT 319 - Temperate Fruit and Nut Production

 Chemical Weed Control
Types of Herbicides: Pre-emergents
■ Applied before ■ Common herbicides for fruit
germination in crops
spring or fall – Surflan (oryzalin)
– Solicam (norflurazon)
– Prevents seed
– Karmex (diuron)
germination
– Simazine
– Kills young seedlings
■ Most need incorporation by
disking or rain/irrigation

HORT 319 - Temperate Fruit and Nut Production

 Chemical Weed Control
Types of Herbicides: Contact or Post-
emergents
■ Kill weeds on contact

■ Paraquat/Gramoxone
– Broad spectrum
– Burn leaves upon contact
– Best if weeds growing rapidly
– Toxic to humans
– Do not use if nuts on ground

HORT 319 - Temperate Fruit and Nut Production

 Chemical Weed Control
Types of Herbicides: Contact or Post-
emergents
■ Kill weeds on contact
■ Roundup/Glyphosate
– Systemic
– Broad spectrum
– At flowering stage
– Late fall application for
perennials
– Can not use within 14 days
before harvest

HORT 319 - Temperate Fruit and Nut Production

 Chemical Weed Control
Types of Herbicides: Contact or Post-
emergents
■ Kill weeds on contact ■ Fusilade
■ Selective grass – Fluazifop-butyl
herbicides – Non bearing trees only
■ Most effective if ■ Poast
grass is succulent – Sethoxydim

HORT 319 - Temperate Fruit and Nut Production

 Chemical Weed Control
Rules of Herbicide Use
■ All herbicides can be dangerous if used
improperly
■ No one herbicide controls all weeds
■ Post-emergents are most effective if weeds
succulent
– Exception to this is Roundup
■ Fine textured soils require higher rates than
coarse soils

HORT 319 - Temperate Fruit and Nut Production

 Chemical Weed Control
Reasons for Poor Results
■ Poor application or calibration
■ Unusual temperatures
■ Too dry
– Some pre-emergents need incorporation via water
■ Too wet
– Leaching
– Chemical breakdown
■ Poor timing
■ Use herbicides separately unless label indicates otherwise

HORT 319 - Temperate Fruit and Nut Production

 Any
Questions?
HORT 319 - Temperate Fruit and Nut Production