Planning Initial Irrigations in Tree Nuts
When to apply the necessary amount of water to tree nuts. Daniele Zaccaria is a UCANR Water Management Specialist based at UC Davis. Zachariah says the decisions can be different.
“So we can apply this water uniformly or site specifically. We can apply this water with frequent and light water application irrigation, or with infrequent and deep, depending on the crop, depending on the type of system,” Zaccaria said. “But also, there's another type of answer that we can provide. So, you know, we should apply water with application rate and volumes that it is compatible with the soil infiltration rate.”
And he said, it's got to be compatible with a water holding capacity of that soil. “Or if we are in areas where we have some time-of-use for energy, also our way of applying water should be, uh, somehow in compliance with the energy rates in order to optimize the use of energy and minimize the energy costs,” noted Zaccaria.
Zaccaria says there's three main methods of scheduling and irrigation. “The first one is based on wet weather parameters. The second one is based on soil characteristics. And the third one is that what we call plant-based. And that's how much that plant may need at any given time. And it's often all based on ET data,” noted Zaccaria.
