Practicing water conservation isn’t just for the ornamental landscaper; commercial as well as home orchards can also be water wise and water efficient.
Ways to Conserve Water in Orchards
- Perform a distribution uniformity test of your irrigation system
- A distribution uniformity between 90-100% is considered a uniform system; this ensures that plants are watered evenly and more efficiently
- This also helps avoid excess water application and runoff
- Perform regular maintenance
- Check for line breaks
- Check for plugged emitters
- Clean filters
- Schedule watering time and amount to meet specific plant needs
- Use soil moisture monitors
- Know crop root depth and soil type
- Adjust to the signs of stress on plants (wilting, yellow leaves)
- Convert to a more efficient watering system
- Micro-irrigation systems such as drip or micro-spray greatly reduces water loss
Additional Resources:
West
California – The California Home Orchard
Colorado – Micro-Sprinkler Irrigation for Orchards