See tips from the UF/IFAS Tip of the Week article for improving irrigation and, subsequently, citrus tree health.
Water is obviously an important component of citrus tree health and productivity, especially with citrus greening reducing citrus trees’ root balls and making it harder for trees to uptake water and nutrients. According to a Tip of the Week article, “Excessive water applications will leach most of the applied fertilizer and other chemicals, adding to the cost of production. Underwatering can lead to trees going thirsty for days, resulting in negative impacts such as wilting, flower abortion, fruit drop and severe defoliation.” Florida’s sandy soils do not hold water or nutrients well, so optimal irrigation management is a must. The article shared tips for improving irrigation and citrus tree health. See them below.
Irrigation and Citrus Tree Health
The article shared these tips for improving irrigation and citrus tree health:
- “Regularly check that all emitters or microjets are working in the grove. One problem in citrus irrigation is clogged emitters, especially where fertilizer is applied via fertigation. To avoid clogged emitters, routinely keep irrigation on for an additional 30 minutes following fertigation. This will flush the irrigation lines and avoid build-up of undissolved fertilizer.”
- “Use weather data to decide when, how often and how much water to apply. The Florida Automated Weather Network irrigation scheduling tool is helpful. On the website, click on Tools and then Irrigation. Next, select Citrus Irrigation and then click on Citrus Microsprinkler Irrigation Scheduler. Specify the tree spacing, emitter discharge, and soil and root depths. This will give the user the amount of water to apply and how often. As a rule, when you receive ½ to 1 inch or more of rain, you can back off irrigation for a day or two.”
- “Finally, base your decisions on how much water to apply based on soil moisture sensor Most sensors can provide information on available water and when one has to irrigate to make sure ample water is available in the root zone.”
Griffin Fertilizer is committed to helping both growers and ranchers make sound agronomic and economic decisions in order to maximize the health of their grove and pasture. As a full-service custom dry & liquid fertilizer blender and crop protection product distributor, we will continue our mission to further advance Florida agriculture. For questions -or concerns about your farm or pasture, contact us and one of our team will be in touch.