Avocado Irrigation
Avocado Irrigation
Avocado Irrigation
Chapter 1
Irrigation
Author: Gary Bender and Ben Faber
Proper irrigation scheduling, with good quality water supplied to the trees through an
efficient irrigation system, is a requirement for all avocado groves. One of the leading
causes of poor yields in California is under-irrigation (not meeting the evapotranspiration
requirement), complicated by the accumulation of salts in the soil through poor leaching.
The use of saline well water, saline surface water, or reclaimed water (if it is too salty) also
reduces yields significantly and may not be sufficiently corrected with leaching.
Figure 1. Reading a
tensiometer, a key to
irrigation scheduling.
Avocado is a challenge to irrigate properly because it has a shallow feeder root system (80
– 90% of the feeder root length is located in the upper 8-10 inches of rootzone soil). The
feeder roots are rather inefficient at water absorption because they have very few root hairs,
and soil moisture is consumed rapidly in the upper layer of rootzone soil. Many of the
groves are on hillsides with a decomposed granite composition. These soils drain rapidly
(which is good), but at the same time they don’t store a lot of water. Therefore, the
irrigator must be diligent at checking soil moisture with tensiometers, soil moisture meters
or soil probes, and re-supplying the soil water before the trees become stressed. On the
other hand, some groves are on heavy soils with high clay content. These groves often
Avocados are fairly heavy water users, and in Southern California where the water is
expensive, some growers tend to irrigate substantially less than is required for optimum
production. The trick to irrigation is meeting the water needs of the trees (which is dictated
by weather), not to stress trees by irrigating infrequently, and not to waste water by over-
irrigating. At the same time, there must be some over-irrigation (known as leaching) to
leach the salts below the root zone in order to avoid the characteristic tip-burn on leaves at
the end of the season.
Avocado growers realize that irrigation is necessary, but they often don’t know the many
roles that water plays in avocado production.
• First and foremost, water plays a key role in the photosynthesis reaction that
creates the carbohydrates for growth and fruit production. During photosynthesis, 6
molecules of carbon dioxide react with 12 molecules of water (in the presence of
light and chlorophyll) to form one six-carbon sugar molecule, 6 molecules of
oxygen, and 6 molecules of water. The six carbon sugar molecules are the building
blocks for plant growth, and the oils and sugars that fill the fruit. Without water,
there is no plant growth.
• Water also is involved in all of the secondary reactions, including the production of
amino acids and proteins, vitamins, hormones, and enzymes.
• Water provides the transportation medium for fertilizer salts and soil minerals to
move to the roots, into the roots, and up to the leaves in the xylem (water
conducting) elements.
• Water fills the cells and plant structures to maintain the proper shape of the
structure. A wilted leaf is lacking in water and the leaf sags. This leaf loses the
ability to intercept light properly.
• Cooling. Water passing through the stomata in the leaf provides a cooling effect.
An over-heated leaf will usually shut down photosynthesis and may burn.
• Leaching. Irrigation water in California always contains salts and these must be
leached below the root zone for the tree to grow properly. Accumulating salts will
lead to tip-burn leaves; these leaves must drop and the tree must replace them with
new leaves. Excessive leaf drop will lead to low fruit production and sometimes no
fruit production. Leaching with extra water is the only way to reduce salt
accumulation in the root zone.
Irrigation Scheduling
Checking soil moisture. There are several ways to check soil moisture content.
Probably the oldest method is to manually check the water content in the soil using
a trowel, shovel, or soil tube. A soil sample is removed by digging 8 to 16 inches
deep in the wetted area of the root zone, and a ball of the soil is formed in the hand.
The texture of soil that has about 50% available water remaining will feel as
follows:
Coarse – appears almost dry, will form a ball that does not hold shape. As
mentioned, in coarse soils, it is best not to let the soil get this dry.
A ball of soil will just begin to fall apart when the soil moisture
depletion approaches 30%.
Loamy – forms a ball, somewhat moldable, will form a weak ribbon when
squeezed between fingers, dark color.
Clayey – forms a good ball, makes a ribbon an inch or so long, dark color,
slightly sticky.
Placement of the tensionmeters requires that they be within the wetted area of the
root zone, usually about 2 – 3 feet away from the mini-sprinkler on the contour of
the hill. Having two tensionmeters next to each other can be helpful in deciding
when to turn the system on and when to turn it off. In shallow hillside soils, a
tensiometer set at 8 inches deep in the soil is used to tell when to turn the system on
(when cb = 20-25), and a deeper tensiometer set at 2 feet deep will tell when to turn
it off (when cb = less than 10). In the more loamy valley floor soils, the shallow
tensiometer can be installed at 1 foot deep, and the deeper tensiometer can be set at
3 feet deep.
There are other devices on the market for measuring soil moisture. Gypsum blocks
are effective, but they don’t read well from 0 cb to 10 cb. Although the part in the
ground is inexpensive, the reading device costs over $250. There is less
maintenance with gypsum blocks than with tensiometers.
There are portable meters on the market for measuring soil moisture. These meters
rely on an electrical current carried by water in the soil. Even the cheap $10 meters
can give a rough estimate of the soil water content. None are very effective in
rocky ground because their sensitive tips break easily and rocks block the electrical
signal, giving a false reading.
CIMIS gives a fairly accurate water usage based on weather in the previous seven
days, but it does not predict the future weather. If the available water holding
capacity of the soil is known, and water is re-supplied to the soil when 30% - 50%
of the moisture is depleted, irrigation can be fairly accurate.
Some growers use the historical water use tables (average water use tables) to
estimate the amount of water to apply. The historical water use table (Table 1) is
an example of a table that was constructed from evapotranspiration data from the
Escondido CIMIS station, averaged over a period of ten years (1988-1997). The
author of this table used crop coefficients suggested by the USDA Soil
Conservation Service (Haynes, 1998). Other tables (Tables 2 and 3) are based on
crop coefficients developed by the University of California, resulting in slightly
less water applied in the summer and slightly more in the winter. Water use by an
avocado tree is reported in gallons per tree per day in Escondido, an inland valley
in San Diego County. This is not to mean that the trees should be watered every
day, it merely indicates how much water the tree is using, and is lost due to
evaporation from the soil surface.
Notes: Table 1 represents the average daily evapotranspiration in gallons per day
for avocados in Escondido, San Diego County. These figures are intended to be
used as a GUIDE and are based on average weather conditions. Irrigation system
emission uniformity is estimated to be 81%. Source of baseline data: Escondido
CIMIS Station. Crop coefficients are from USDA Soil Conservation Service
Manual 21. Table 1 is provided courtesy of the Mission Resource Conservation
District, Fallbrook, CA.
Table 2. Historical evapotranspiration (ETo and ETc) and corrected daily water use by
avocado in gallons/tree/day from a selected CIMIS station in San Diego County (Escondido)
Notes: Monthly Eto represents evapotranspiration in inches of water for 8-inch tall
grass. Kc represents the crop coefficients developed for avocado by the University
of California. Etc represents evapotranspiration in inches of water for avocado.
DU is distribution uniformity of the average irrigation system; the lower the DU
Table 3. Historical evapotranspiration (ETo and ETc) and corrected daily water use by
avocado in gallons/tree/day from a selected CIMIS station in Ventura County (Santa Paula)
As mentioned, the historical water use tables indicate the amount of water used on
a daily basis by a mature avocado tree, averaged over a ten-year period. Growers
may use these tables as a guide to be used with tensiometers. For instance, if the
tensiometer reads 25 cb in a sandy loam soil, and it reaches this reading in 5 days
in June, the irrigation would apply 295 gallons of water (5 days x 59 gallons of
water per day). Caution should be used in using historical tables (see #4 below).
Historical tables are useful in that they emphasize some important points:
1. Avocados use water all year long. Rain in the winter usually (but not
always) supplies a significant amount of the irrigation requirement.
Some winters (such as the 2001-02 winter) had almost no rain and
growers never stopped irrigating. Other winters may have a lot of rain,
but it may all come in a short period of time. In this case, the term
“effective rainfall” is used. This means that the amount of rain that
meets the daily water use of the tree is counted as part or all of the
water use requirement. Extra water from rain is lost, but actually is
beneficial to the grove in leaching salt from the soil profile.
You can do your own calculations using any CIMIS station in California, or by
using the historical tables from selected stations (Table 4 and Table 5). The
calculations are simple if one follows the simple formula below with the
conversion factor of 0.623: (For further explanation on CIMIS, see section
below).
c. Etc per day x tree spacing (in sq. ft.) x 0.623 = Gallons per day used by
avocados
_________ x __________________ x 0.623 = _____________
Note: if your tree spacing is 20’ x 20’, the factor used is 400. If your tree spacing
is 15’ x 20’, the factor used is 300.
d. Adjust the “gallons per day” by dividing by efficiency of irrigation system (eu)
(see section below on irrigation evaluations, 0.81 is used in Table 1)
Note: with a low distribution uniformity, you will be watering more to keep all
trees receiving the minimum irrigation requirement.
e. The leaching fraction has not been well-defined, but we know if we apply just
the right amount of water to meet the trees’ requirement, salts will eventually
build up in the rootzone, be absorbed into the roots and cause “tip-burn” in the
leaves late in the season. Traditionally we have added 10% extra water with
each irrigation to help leach the salts below the rootzone.
[adjusted gallons per day (from d) x 0.10] + adjusted gallons per day = daily water
use
(______________________ x 0.10) + ___________________ = ____________
f. Let’s say in this case you have not watered in seven days. You want to replace
the amount of water that the trees have used in the last seven days. From the
historical tables you have calculated how much water the trees are using on a daily
basis (adjusted for distribution uniformity and leaching fraction).
days x daily water use (from e) = amount of water per tree during an irrigation
____ x _________________ __ = ____________________________________
g. For the run time, you have to know the application rate of your mini-sprinklers
in gallons per hour:
Table 4. Average monthly evapotranspiration in inches (ETo) from selected CIMIS stations
in Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties (historical)
A better way to determine water use by an avocado tree in real time is to log onto the
website www.avocado.org and get into the CIMIS calculator under the “growers section”.
This website has a link to the state’s CIMIS website www.cimis.water.ca.gov, and this
website is useful for retrieving current and historical CIMIS evapotranspiration data and
various weather data including temperature, humidity, wind speed, wind run, and rainfall.
By using the CIMIS weather stations, one can estimate actual water use by a tree during the
past week fairly accurately (assuming the micro-climate at the grove is the same as that at
the CIMIS station). A word of caution: CIMIS does not predict the weather, so if weather
becomes hotter and drier than the previous week, adjustments should be made to the
irrigation schedule to match the demand.
The CIMIS calculator is handy for avocado growers because tree spacing can be used in the
calculation to give gallons/tree/day. If the sprinkler output in gallons/hr is known, the run-
time will be calculated.
The irrigation water requirement is driven by the weather, not by the soil type. In theory, a
tree in a bucket of aerated water would use the same amount of water as a tree in a sandy
soil, if the soil were supplied with plenty of water. The soil is important; however, because
this is where the water is stored for times between irrigations. Sandy soils hold less water
than clay soils; therefore, trees on sandy soils will have to be irrigated more often, but the
water use by trees on clay soils vs. sandy soils will be the same during the same period of
time. In addition, the heavier soils are usually deeper than the hillside decomposed granite
soils, and there is more soil available for rooting and extraction of water by the tree.
Shallow soils should be irrigated more often than deeper soils.
In the previous sections in this chapter, we have suggested that the best method to schedule
irrigations is to use CIMIS to determine “how much” water the trees are using, and to use a
Using a computer to keep track of daily ETc, the grower can determine irrigation frequency
in a particular soil, but there should always be a tensiometer to validate the irrigation
frequency. However, the accuracy using this system is variable, probably due to the
variability in soils and rock content in the soils (rocks do not absorb water). If a grower
would like to experiment with this system, Table 6 is useful as it indicates the available
water holding capacity of different types of soils.
Table 6. Available Water Holding Capacity. If the soil type is known, the water holding capacity of
the soil can be calculated. If the soil type is not known, you can consult with personnel from the local
USDA – Natural Resources and Conservation Service. They can tell you the soil type from standard
soil maps.
Tensiometers. The use of tensiometers has partially been described under “Irrigation
Scheduling - Frequency” at the beginning of this chapter. Tensiometers are the most
affordable devices for growers, measure soil moisture well in the upper ranges of moisture
(0 – 70 cb), and are easy to install and read. Some tips for using tensiometers are:
1. Before placing the tensiometer, fill the tube with water and place it in a bucket
of water over-night. In the morning, put a portable vacuum pump on the
tensiometer and draw suction with the tensiometer in the bucket (special pumps
are sold at irrigation stores for this purpose). The suction will draw tiny air
bubbles out of the clay cup and cause water to fill the pores in the clay.
Installing a tensiometer without doing this will cause the air bubbles to block
the action of water movement in the clay cup, and the device might not work.
3. Pour a glass of water into the hole and gently set the tensiometer into the
correct depth. It is very important to put the water in the hole to create the
soil/cup contact. Do not pound the tensiometer in with a hammer. Remember,
the clay cup is fragile and a slight crack in the cup will cause the device to fail.
Pack loose soil around the tensiometer and tamp. After installation, the
irrigation system should be run to wet the loose soil and settle it around the
tube.
5. Tensiometer cups will break suction from the soil if the soil dries excessively
and the suction exceeds 80 cb; therefore, the soil can never get too dry. If the
instrument breaks the suction, the needle on the vacuum gauge will drop to
zero. At this point we assume air has entered the clay cup and the instrument
should be removed, put in a bucket of water and pumped to get the air out.
Instruments can be pumped while in the ground, but only after a long irrigation
has saturated the soil.
6. Air bubbles will enter the tensiometer. When this is noticed, the top should be
loosened and water in the reservoir at the top can be used to fill the tube (with
the help of a pencil or wire).
7. The ceramic tip of the tensiometer may need replacement over time, especially
in calcareous and saline soils. Sanding the tip may help to restore some of the
porosity of the tip. Many growers send in their tensiometers once a year to the
9. The grove irrigator should be urged to write down the readings in a notebook.
(Spot checking should be done to make sure that the readings in the notebook
are correct!).
Gypsum Blocks. A gypsum block works by measuring the electrical resistance which
indirectly measures the moisture between two electrodes in the block. The electrical
resistance is read with a portable meter. A gypsum block usually lasts 2 – 3 years in a
grove soil. Gyspsum blocks work better in the drier ranges of soil (in excess of 33 cb), thus
they are not very accurate in the moisture ranges in which avocados are irrigated.
Before planting the avocado grove, the irrigation system needs to be in place, ready for the
trees. The various parts of the system can be assembled and installed by the grower, but it
is usually best to use a qualified low-flow irrigation system designer for the plans. Several
irrigation stores and farm supply stores have qualified system designers and will design the
system for free in return for purchase of the components.
The system should be designed to meet the water needs of the mature orchard during the
peak irrigation period. It should be designed so that daily operation does not exceed 16 to
18 hours. This added irrigation capacity allows for “catch-up” in case of system
breakdown, such as a pump breakdown that requires repair.
Many growers have water delivered by an irrigation district, but in some instances it may
be cheaper (or the only alternative) to drill a well. The use of well water should be
carefully considered; well water is usually of fairly good quality if the well is located near a
river or a stream that runs year-round. Water from wells that are located in areas where
there is low ground water storage is often saline, the source of this water is mostly leach
water from groves. Some well water can be used if liberally mixed with good quality
district water, but careful scheduling and leaching is very important throughout the life of
the grove. There is usually some yield reduction associated with saline well water.
If a well is the source of water, it is important to select a pump and motor that will deliver
the correct pressure and flow-rate at the highest possible efficiency. The system designer
determines the flow-rate and pressure to be delivered by the pump, and the pump dealer
matches the motor to the pump for the greatest efficiency.
Water Meter Capacity. Irrigation systems should be designed to handle peak flow in the
summer. As outlined in Table 2, the average water to use per tree (including leaching
fraction and correction for emission uniformity) in July in Escondido is 53 gallons/tree/day
(20’ x 20’ spacing). At 109 trees per acre, 5777 gallons would be used per acre per day, or
40,439 gallons per week.
If you plan to irrigate with 30 gallon/hr mini-sprinklers once a week, your application rate
would be 30 gal/hr x 109 trees per acre = 3270 gal per hour per acre. To apply 40,439
gallons, it would take 12.4 hrs. (40,439 gallons/3270 gal/hr = 12.4 hrs). During this
irrigation, water would be flowing through the meter at (3270 gal/hr / 60 min/hr = 54.5
gallons per minute or 54.5 GPM.
Water meters are rated in gallons per minute (GPM) (Table 7). In our example above, this
1 acre grove, if watered once a week, would require a 1½ inch meter in order to supply
water at 54.5 GPM. If the grove were to be watered in 2 sets on 2 successive days (each set
watering 55 trees), the GPM would be 27.25 GPM, and a 1 inch meter would be sufficient.
If the grove were to be watered in 3 sets on 3 successive days, (each set watering 36 trees)
the GPM would be 18.1 GPM, and a ¾ inch meter would be sufficient.
Another way to look at this is to decide how many acres can be irrigated based on the
number of hours you want to be irrigating each week (example derived from USDA Soil
Conservation Service, 1985). If you plan to irrigate 7 days a week, 18 hours a day, you
need to figure out how many gallons per minute will be running through the meter. Using
the calculations below, your water meter capacity requirement per acre is 5.4 GPM per
acre.
A more realistic example (with consideration for labor and downtime for repairs) might be
irrigating at 5 days per week, 16 hrs per day. In this case you would be running more water
through your meter, and less acreage could be irrigated.
Notes:
(1) Information provided by Fallbrook Public Utility District
(2) Information suggested by Fallbrook Public Utility District
(3) Although theoretically possible, the almost around-the-clock irrigation to serve this acreage does
not allow time for days off for labor, for downtime for system repair, or for “catch-up” irrigation.
(4) Total cost of meter includes meter and service line installation, Fallbrook Public Utility District
connection fee, and San Diego County Water Authority connection fee. These fees were effective on
July 1, 2001. Fees will vary considerably according to water district. Information provided by
Fallbrook Public Utility District.
(5) Connection fees only. Meter and service installation are extra.
As mentioned, it is very important to size the meter properly when the grove is installed. If
the meter is under-sized, then the grove may be chronically under-irrigated and will be a
poorly producing grove.
A reduced pressure (RP) backflow device (see local water district for requirements) is
now required in California to prevent flow of fertilizer or pesticide-contaminated water
back into the main water system. It is required that the backflow device be checked each
year by the water district or a qualified representative of the water district. There is a fee for
checking the backflow device. Many small groves (less than 2 acres) were installed using
the house water meter, but backflow devices should be installed to prevent water from the
grove back-flowing into the drinking water in the house. All wells should have a double
check valve installed so that water from the irrigation system does not flow back into the
well when the pump is turned off.
Next on the system will be main valve, sometimes followed by a Bermad valve or a valve
operated by an electric solenoid connected to a timer. A Bermad valve is a valve in which
a dial can be turned to select the quantity of water to be applied, after which it
automatically turns off. The Bermad valve is popular with grove managers who have a lot
of groves to irrigate. The Bermad valve does not require electricity, whereas the timeclock
and electric valves should be located near a source of AC power. Long lasting DC batteries
and solar powered systems are also available to power these valves.
A flowmeter and pressure gauges are essential parts of an irrigation system. The meter
will tell how much water is being applied; knowledge that is critical for efficient irrigation
scheduling. For example, a flow-rate that decreases during the season measured at the
same pressure can indicate clogging of the system, while increasing flow-rate might
suggest a leak in the system. It is also a good idea to compare readings from your
flowmeter with readings from the water meter, to make sure the water meter is working
properly. It is a good idea to locate a pressure gauge on each side of the filter; a difference
Valves of various sorts help control the system. A main control valve is very important,
particularly in the case of a well and pump. Sub-main valves are used in the grove to route
the water to the sets. As mentioned, a backflow prevention device should be installed to
prevent contamination of the water source.
Air/vacuum relief valves allow air to escape the system when the water is turned on, and
allows air to enter the system when the system is shut down. The relief valves help prevent
“water-hammer” which can break an irrigation system apart. As the line drains, the valve
eliminates the risk of line collapse due to vacuum and reduces the chance of soil being
sucked into the system from a buried emitter. Check valves will prevent undesirable flow
reversal in hilly terrain.
Injection equipment may be critical to prevent clogging of the low-flow system, however;
it is also a great convenience for the application of fertilizers. There are three basic types
of fertilizer injectors: Batch tanks, Venturi devices, and positive displacement pumps. The
injection equipment should be used in a by-pass line, not directly into the main line going
into the grove.
1. Differential pressure tanks or batch tanks are the simplest. Irrigation water
flows in one side of the tank, and out the other end of the tank with the dissolved
fertilizer. Batch tanks have the disadvantage that as irrigation continues, the
chemical concentration of the irrigation water decreases. If the chemical
concentration must be kept constant, a batch tank should not be used; however, in
most fertilizer applications constant chemical concentration is not important. The
batch tanks should be rated to withstand the high pressures in some water systems,
and they should be made of stainless steel or special coated steel. A chemical
resistant plastic tank is used to store the liquid fertilizer. It is a good idea to have
the storage tank sitting on a concrete pad with a concrete berm around the edges in
case the plastic tanks starts to leak. A batch tank should have a flow meter out of
the tank before the main irrigation line: the flow will usually be 2 – 3 gallons per
minute. The batch tanks and storage tanks should be located near the road for easy
loading from delivery trucks.
A filter should be located in the head unit, especially if the source of water is from a well
or pond. With district water, the filter is normally located after the fertilizer injector in case
fertilizers form precipitates that could clog emitters. If the source of water is from a well,
the filter will be on the line before the injector to reduce sand wearing on the parts of the
Water from the local water district should also be filtered because dirt and grit enter their
lines during repairs, and this has been known to clog drippers and mini-sprinklers. These
filters can be simple angle filters with a removable screen for cleaning, or disc-ring filters.
Regular inspection and cleaning of filters should be part of the grove operations.
Mains and submains deliver water to the lateral lines and emitters. The size of the lines is
balanced between the cost of larger PVC pipe versus the pressure losses occurring with
water movement through smaller lines. In designing the system, the design engineer will
take into account the slope and the friction loss in order to size the pipes properly.
Lateral lines are the pipelines that deliver water from the sub-mains to the emitters at the
trees. They are usually made of polyethylene or PVC, although some older systems still use
galvanized steel. The length and diameter of the laterals must not be too long, or of an
incorrect diameter; if they are, the emitters may discharge water at different rates, resulting
in non-uniform irrigation. Lateral lines should be installed on the contour of the hill.
Most of the older groves have buried PVC pipe between the trees, with PVC risers at the
sprinklers, but many of the newer groves (especially those on the steep rocky slopes) are
using the newer long-lasting polyethylene tubing on the ground, covered with leaves or soil
to reduce UV degradation. An advantage of solid PVC is that they are impermeable to
chewing damage by coyotes, but the risers are easily broken by pickers working in the
grove. The polyethylene tubing is connected to the emitter on a stake with a ¼ inch
diameter tubing; the tubing is usually about 1½ ft in length. The stakes get knocked over,
but they are much easier to set back up than it is to repair a broken PVC riser in the ground.
PVC lateral lines should always be glued using purple primer first, then a good quality gray
glue (711) or a blue glue (not as strong but sets faster). A white (719) glue is stronger yet
and is used mainly on main lines and sub-mains. It is a paste glue which fills in tiny
bubbles and imperfections in the pipe.
Pressure regulators are pressure-reducing valves. They reduce a higher inlet pressure to a
steady lower outlet pressure regardless of changing flow rates or varying inlet pressure.
They can be installed after the filter at the head of the system as pressure regulating valves,
as pre-set regulators at the head of laterals, as in–line pressure regulators, or as a part of the
emitter itself (pressure compensating emitters). Pre-set regulators are usually set to hold
pressure between 20 psi to 30 psi. It is best to have one installed on each lateral line as it
emerges from the sub-main; it is especially important for hillside groves.
Pressure-compensating emitters are more expensive than standard emitters and may wear
out sooner. In a reclaimed water trial in Escondido, pressure-compensating mini-sprinklers
were used without pressure regulators on the lateral lines and 92% emission uniformity was
achieved for two years in a row. During the third year, however, emission uniformity
started to decrease and it was discovered that the silicon discs in the emitter were beginning
to wear. Discs were replaced for ten cents a piece, and 92% uniformity was achieved again.
Although wear is a problem, pressure-compensating emitters have a bright future,
especially in hillside groves. Recently improvements have been made in the silicon discs,
and it seems that these will be the mini-sprinklers of the future.
Emitters come in all sizes and shapes as drippers, mini-sprinklers and fan sprays.
Characteristic of all of them is that they do not wet the entire orchard floor. Drip emitters
with outputs of ½ to 2 gallons per hour (gph) wet a small spot at the surface, thereby
resulting in their being very effective at reducing weed growth.
The wetted pattern with drippers enlarges below the soil surface, and depending on the soil
texture, this pattern can be a bulbous onion shape (loamy soils), or more like a stove pipe
(sandy to granite soils). Much of the avocado acreage that was planted in the 1970’s was
set up with drip irrigation, but because of the stove pipe effect in the granite hillside soils,
water distribution was not very good, and the trees grew rather slowly in some groves.
Switching to mini-sprinklers improved the water distribution, was more efficient at
leaching salts below the root zone, and created a larger volume of soil for roots to grow.
Drippers can be used successfully, however, if enough water is applied to meet the
irrigation requirement and drippers are added as the trees age. Drippers are very good with
young trees. As the trees grow, more emitters and a second lateral should be added.
Typically, 6 to 8 drip emitters should be able to meet the requirements of the mature
avocado tree, depending on the soil type. It should be realized that, if a tree is using 50
gallons of water a day in the summer, and the tree has eight 2-gallon per hour drippers, and
the trees are being watered every three days, the run time will be a little over nine hours. In
the past, some growers severely under-watered their trees by thinking the system could be
turned on just once a week.
Drippers are notorious for their maintenance requirements; the tortuous path emitters have
fewer problems. These emitters rely on a long, relatively large channel to reduce water
flow, rather than just a small opening.
Chlorine or acid injection will prevent clogging problems, but “walking the lines” must
always be done to detect clogging and other problems such as pressure blowouts, damage
from weed clearing, damage from falling branches and damage from coyotes chewing on
the lines.
Mini-sprinklers, most with a rotating orifice called a spinner, put out from 4 to 30 gph and
wet a much larger surface area than drip emitters. Because the discharge flow is higher
than that for drippers and their orifice is larger, there are less problems with clogging;
however, the use of filters upstream is still important.
In sandier textured soils where lateral subsurface movement of water is small, a mini-
sprinkler is often a preferred choice. One of the major drawbacks of some mini-sprinklers
is that output with distance from the emitter varies. The amount of water placed on the
outside 2/3 of the wetted pattern may be as little as 1/3 of the amount placed on the inside
of the wetted pattern. This distribution means that salt can accumulate in the outer part of
the wetted pattern, and near the emitter the water will often go below the root zone and is
wasted. The mini-sprinkler should always be placed on the up-hill side of the tree; excess
water will move under-ground down the slope and wet roots down-hill from the tree trunk.
Fan sprays are often designed to overcome the poor output uniformity of min-sprinklers by
directing fingers of water in various directions. There are a number of patterns that can be
obtained: butterfly, rectangular, etc. Both mini-sprinklers and fan sprays can be found in
less than 360° patterns. With trees that are 1 – 2 yrs old, fan sprays are often used in a 90°
pattern aimed at the tree. When trees are 3 – 5 yrs old, fan sprays are often changed to 180°
pattern aimed at the tree; and when trees are 6 yrs or older, emitters are changed to full
circle mini-sprinklers.
At least manufacturer makes a mini-sprinkler in which a cap snaps off, and the water is
directed downward in a 1foot diameter pattern at the base of new trees. After the 2nd or 3rd
year, the twirler is put back on and a full circle mini-sprinkler in created, good for the older
trees.
In some groves, especially groves on heavier clay soils, the risk of trunk canker caused by
Phytophthora citricola is high. In these groves it is important that the tree trunk be kept as
dry as possible. Some mini-sprinklers have 300° patterns, and the dry section of the pattern
can be aimed at the tree trunk.
There are many brands of emitters and many models within each brand. Although quality
of low-flow emitters has markedly improved in the last 15 years, there can still be some
problems in their manufacture. All emitters should be checked closely after installation to
make sure water is flowing properly.
Information about specific emitter performance can be obtained from both the Center for
Irrigation Technology at Fresno State University and through the Cooperative Extension in
the Department of Land, Air, and Water Resources at U. C. Davis.
What Is DU?
The measure of the efficiency of an irrigation system is its distribution uniformity (DU). A
DU of 100% means that every emitter is putting out exactly the same amount of water. If
some emitters put out more or less than the average of the whole system, the DU is less
than 100%.
A high level of DU is important since the system must run longer for those trees receiving a
lesser amount of water to get an adequate amount. In addition, some trees may be getting
more water than they need, resulting in a condition that may not be good for the overall
health of the trees, and the waste of water.
Because of pressure losses in lines and uneven terrain, it is impossible to achieve 100%
DU, but 80% is attainable and 95% is not unheard-of. Even in a new, well-designed
system, clogging and leaks can rapidly reduce distribution uniformity. The way to ensure a
high DU is through maintenance.
Turn the system on, and upon going to the first emitter, invert the emitter over a graduated
cylinder or measuring cup and capture the water for a specified time, such as 15 seconds.
The length of time used to capture water is limited only by the capacity of the cylinder, and
length of time you want to be standing there.
After sampling the emitters, arrange the amounts from low to high. Add the values up and
find the average. Then look at the amounts that come from the ¼ of the emitters putting
out the least (known as the “low quarter”). Take their average, and divide this by the
average of all the emitters.
Multiply by 100 to get the percentage of DU. If DU is less than 80%, something must be
done. If it is greater than this, it might still be possible to improve the efficacy of the
system.
A convenient method of measuring drip systems is to use a 35 mm film can. When the film
can fills in 30 seconds, that emitter output is 1 gallon per hour. If it fills in half the time, it
is a 2 gallon per hour emitter.
To determine DU when the can does not completely fill, take the proportion of the filled
can as the emitter output. For example, if the 1 gallon per hour emitter only fills a
percentage of the can in 30 seconds, use the percentage in the summation of values.
Example: Martha measures 12 emitters and finds 8.5, 8, 7, 8, 7.5, 6.5, 7, 7.5, 8, 8, 8.5, 7.5
ounces in her graduated cylinder after 20 seconds of capture. The values are arranged from low to
high, summed and averaged:
6.5
7
7
7.5
7.5
7.5 average = 92/12 = 7.66
8
8
8
8
8.5
8.5
92.0
Martha has a system with a DU of 91%. That is pretty good and hopefully she can deep it
high through proper maintenance.
Presumably the system was designed right. If the low DU is caused by pressure differences
in the system, it may be necessary to install pressure regulators or pressure compensation
emitters. If there is not enough pressure to run the system, it may be necessary to break it
into two or more irrigation blocks with separate valves. The major culprit of low DU,
though, is poor maintenance.
Routine maintenance includes checking for leaks, backwashing filters, periodically flushing
lines, chlorinating, acidifying, and cleaning or replacing clogged emitters.
Coyotes are very prone to biting and puncturing polyethylene tubing to get water. Thus, in
coyote country walking the lines to inspect for leads is critical. Pup season in spring and
when surrounding hills have dried out in fall are times when most coyote damage is
encountered.
Often putting a pan of water out for them can decrease the amount of damage. Sometimes
it may be necessary to repair the lines before every irrigation. Also, during and after
harvest when emitters and lines may have been kicked or tramped on by pickers is another
time when leaks or bent emitters may be found.
Clogged emitters can often be identified visually by reduced flows. Sometimes the sound
is changed. Sound can be helpful also in identifying spinners on mini-sprinklers that are
jammed.
Back flushing filters should be done whenever there is a 5-pound per square inch (psi)
reduction in outflow pressure. Clogged filters reduce the system pressure and lower
application rates.
Flushing lateral lines, opening the lines and allowing them to run clear, is essential,
especially with drip systems. Filters trap only the larger sediments. The laterals will
gradually accumulate the smaller fraction which can eventually clog the emitters.
Emitters may need to be cleaned or replaced due to clogging. It is important to identify the
cause of clogging. Acid and chorine injection should be a regular program if organic
slimes or chemical precipitates are a problem.
Water Supply
Most low-flow systems require relatively frequent applications of water during peak
demand periods. With drip systems it may be as frequent as once a day. In some areas
water is delivered by and irrigation district on a basis that may cause difficulty in following
an “on demand” frequency.
In this case it is necessary to work out an agreement with the agency supplying water. If
the infrastructure will not allow frequent deliveries, a pond or tank system should be
installed to provide a reservoir. If not, a well should be considered.
In Southern California, water supply to groves was cut-back by many of the water districts
in the drought years in the early 1990’s. Given that we live in a desert with most of our
district water being delivered from the Colorado River, it would seem that our groves may
be in peril in the future, especially if California enters a prolonged drought. Many growers
have invested in wells (not always very productive and often saline), but a well may serve
as a good back up in case of water cut-back.
Water Quality
Water quality has always been a concern in avocado production in Southern California and
will be more important as growers are forced to use more ground water and reclaimed
sewage water for irrigation. Avocado is one of the most sensitive of the tree crops in
California to total dissolved solids (TDS, or total salts). The chloride ion, usually a major
component in the salinity spectrum, is specifically toxic to avocado, causing the familiar
“tip-burn”. During the course of a five-year experiment with 100% ETc reclaimed water in
Escondido (average EC = 1.5) yield was reduced 40% compared to yield with 100% ETc
potable district water (average EC = 0.7). Adding 40% extra reclaimed water (140% ETc)
still reduced yield 27% compared to 100% ETc district water, and a 50/50 blend of
reclaimed/district water reduced yield 27% compared to district water (Bender and Miller,
1996).
Sodium can also enter the roots and has been shown to accumulate in the roots, trunk and
branches, possibly to toxic levels (Oster and Arpaia 1992).
Understanding the Lab Analysis. Soil samples sent into the lab are saturated with
distilled water to a paste, then the water is drawn from the soil by vacuum extraction. Since
salinity is the total quantity of salts dissolved in water, and salts in water conduct
electricity, an easy way to measure salinity is to obtain an electrical conductivity (EC)
reading between two electrodes in the water sample. This is reported to the grower in units
of EC. EC was previously reported by labs in millimhos per centimeter (mmhos/cm), but
now these units are reported by most labs in decisiemens per meter (dS/m). (Some
municipal labs still report in mmhos/cm, a value which is 1000 times higher than dS/m.)
The electrical conductivity of the soil extract is known as ECe, whereas the electrical
conductivity of a water sample is known as ECw.
The relationship between electrical conductivity of the water (ECw) and total dissolved
solids (or salts) (TDS) is: ECw (in dS/m) x 640 = TDS (in mg/L)
Sometimes TDS in mg/L is reported in parts per million (ppm); the numbers are same.
Yield Reduction with Salinity. Ayers (1977) suggested that a 10% reduction in yield
would be expected to occur when TDS in the irrigation water reached 760 ppm (ECw = 1.2)
assuming a leaching fraction of 10%. A yield reduction of 25% would be expected to occur
when TDS reaches 1088 ppm (ECw = 1.7) assuming a leaching fraction of 14% , and a
yield reduction of 50% would be expected when TDS reaches 1536 ppm (ECw = 2.4),
assuming a leaching fraction of 20%. These are theoretical yield reductions based on tree
growth in solution culture; these have not been verified by experiments with actual harvest
data. As mentioned at the beginning of this section, actual harvest data from the reclaimed
water trial seem to suggest that the effect on yield is even worse than that suggested by
Ayers.
It is important to note the dominant anion in the water when evaluating salinity. For a
water with bicarbonate as the dominant anion, the salinity hazard is much lower than if the
dominant anion were chloride. Thus, waters with the same TDS could perform
significantly different depending on the types of anions.
• Utilize a source of water with the best quality available. This is by far the best
management strategy. In Southern California, this usually means using district
water. If cost or availability is a problem, then the following strategies should be
considered.
• Leaching. Leaching has not been well-researched in avocados, but we believe that
growers should leach every irrigation by adding extra water above the 100% ETc
requirement. In the discussion of irrigation scheduling, 10% extra water was added
onto the irrigation requirement (ETc) for leaching, thus every irrigation contains a
leaching fraction. Is 10% high enough? Probably for district water, but the
leaching fraction will vary according to the quality of the irrigation water. The
classic Rhoades equation is used to calculate the leaching requirement (LR):
LR = ECw/(5ECe – ECw)
where ECw is the salinity of the applied water (expressed as electrical conductivity
of the water sample), ECe is the salinity of the soil in the wetted area under the
trees.
According to the tables in the Western Fertilizer Handbook (Anon. 1990, adapted
from Ayers, 1977), a soil extract EC of 1.3 is the threshold before yield reduction
begins in avocado. If district water with an ECw of 0.9 was being applied, and the
soil ECe was 1.3, the equation for leaching requirement would be as follows:
If a poorer quality water was being used, such as the reclaimed water in the
Escondido trial, the leaching requirement would be higher:
Given that most groves in San Diego County require about 3 acre feet per acre per
year, with a poor quality water such as described above, the grower would need to
apply about 1 extra acre foot of water to maintain yield. Unfortunately, because of
the toxicity of chloride specifically to avocado, there may still be a significant yield
reduction, as evidenced by the results from the reclaimed water trial.
• Soil Monitoring. Random soil samples should be pulled with a soil probe from
areas within the wetted pattern of the mini-sprinklers. The top inch of soil should
be scraped off, then a sample taken from 1” – 8”, and another deeper sample taken
from 8” – 16”. Do not take samples from the very edge of the wetted pattern as
LITERATURE CITED
Anon. 1990. “Water and Plant Growth”, Chapter 2, Western Fertilizer Handbook –
Horticulture Edition. A. E. Ludwick (ed). Interstate Publishers, Inc., Danville,
Illinois.
Ayers, R. S. 1977. Quality of Water for Irrigation. Journal of the Irrigation and Drain
Div., ASCE. 103:135-154.
Bender, G. S. and R. Miller. 1996. Avocado Irrigation Pilot Project, A Five Year Study
Report. Public Works Department Utilities Division, City of Escondido.
Grattan, S. R., R. L.Snyder, and F. E Robinson. 1989. “Yield Threshold Soil Water
Depletion”, Irrigation Scheduling, A Guide for Efficient On-Farm Water
Management. D. A. Goldhammer and R. L. Snyder (eds). Publication 21454,
University of California Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources,
Oakland, California.
Meyer, J. L., M. L. Arpaia, M.V. Yates, E. Takele, G. Bender, and G. Witney. 1990.
Irrigation and Fertilization Management of Avocado. Calif. Avocado Soc.
Yrbk. 74: 71-83.