Your source for orchard news & information in the Sacramento Valley
One of the motivations for making good water management decisions early in the growing season is to reduce risk of root and crown diseases that can eventually kill almond, walnut, prune, and other tree species. Early season water management influences the environment where roots grow by affecting soil temperature and aeration and can be pivotal in how much tree decline actually occurs. Continue reading
This tutorial consists of a single video. In it, we revisit briefly why we offer the weekly crop ET reports. It has been our experience that once growers and crop consultants become familiar with how to apply the weekly crop … Continue reading
This tutorial consists of three videos. We explore how managed levels of crop stress can benefit some crops when employed properly by reducing risk of disease, aiding crop maturity, and optimizing water and energy inputs. We discuss how soil moisture … Continue reading
This tutorial introduces the challenges that soils with variable water holding capacity and uncertainty about effective root zones of crops poses to on-farm water management. We consider how these weekly reports of crop ET can be related to site specific … Continue reading
This tutorial consists of three shorter videos which combine for about 40 minutes of instruction. It focuses on making irrigation decisions in orchard crops during the early years of orchard establishment, as the trees grow from transplants to the early … Continue reading
This tutorial consists of four videos adding up to slightly more than one hour of instruction for growers and consultants. It introduces free weekly crop ET reports. They are heavily geared towards orchard crops and are available throughout the Central … Continue reading
“Technology” has different meanings for different people (Figure 1). In irrigated agriculture we look towards technology to meet our changing needs and sustain our industry in the long run. However, with technology, “confusion” and a sense of overload can hinder our ability to learn and apply it. This article considers the abundance of irrigation technology and the challenges with its adoption. Some ideas are offered to cope with the sense of confusion and overload. Continue reading
Irrigation Evapotranspiration (ET) Report for Tehama, Butte and Colusa county CIMIS stations. Continue reading
This calculator converts the weekly crop ET estimates reported as inches per acre to gallons per tree. Enter your orchard specific information into the yellow boxes and the results will display under the ‘Calculation Results’ heading below. See our FAQs … Continue reading
This calculator estimates the maximum weekly hours of irrigation need based upon weekly estimates of crop ET and the hourly water application rate of your system. The maximum weekly hours of irrigation may not be needed because in-season rainfall or soil … Continue reading
This calculator computes the hourly water application rate of higher flow minisprinklers and solid set sprinklers. Use this calculator if sprinkler nozzles are rated in gallons per minute (GPM). Enter your orchard specific information into the yellow boxes and the … Continue reading
This calculator computes the hourly water application rate of lower flow drip or microsprinkler irrigation systems. Use this calculator if the drippers or microsprinklers are rated in gallons per hour (GPH). Enter your orchard specific information into the yellow boxes … Continue reading
Q1: Why are weekly crop ET rates reported as inches per week instead of gallons per tree per week or per day when drip emitters, microsprinklers, and minisprinklers are rated in gallons per hour or gallons per minute? We recognize … Continue reading
The Northern Region of the California Department of Water Resources and the University of California Cooperative Extension in Tehama and Glenn counties have teamed up to provide Weekly ET Reports to agricultural water users. Reports include water use information for a variety of crops. This article outlines background information about the reports and ways to use them in on-farm water management. Continue reading
Allan Fulton, UCCE Water Resources Advisor, Tehama, Shasta, Glenn and Colusa Counties; and Luke Milliron, UCCE Orchards Advisor, Butte, Tehama and Glenn Counties. Advanced guidelines for prune are provided in Table 1 (below). These guidelines consider the actual orchard measurements … Continue reading