When to start irrigating after rain? (Hint: let the trees tell you)
- Phytech Team
- Nov 19, 2020
- 1 min read
It's winter here in California as well as other parts of the northern hemi-sphere. While some trees enter dormancy and are less stress-prone, others, such as avocado and citrus trees need a closer attending.
One of the main questions growers are dealing with during winter is when and how much to irrigate after a rain event, especially when it was followed by some hot days.
This is where our plant-based data is making a difference, helping growers fine-tune their practices, save water and maintain their trees' potential productivity . With clear visibility of their trees' water-demand as shown by our color-indicator, growers are able to quickly respond and apply timely irrigation to avoid yield-affecting stress.
There's no need to make assumptions about water availability and take unnecessary risks, when the trees can tell you exactly how thirsty they are.
In the following screen-shot, after 2 days of rain, trees were enjoying enough moisture as indicated by the green status. But temperatures have rose, rsulting in trees entering the stress-zone as indicated by the orange status as well as higher MDS (Maximum Daily Shrinkage) measured.
Upon recognizing this, the grower immediately applied irrigation which "pulled" the tree back to the green zone. The key here is giving growers an accurate real-time understanding of their trees' status, so they can respond and avoid stress-days. Instead of making assumptions when to irrigate after the rain, growers can listen to what their trees are telling them.
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This is such a smart approach, especially for those trickier trees like avocados that need constant attention even in winter. It really highlights how much better it is to have real-time data instead of guessing when your plants are getting stressed and might start to feel like Trees Hate You! That orange indicator is a brilliant visual cue.
Using Maximum Daily Shrinkage (MDS) as a "biometric" for a tree is a game-changer. It’s essentially the tree's pulse—monitoring how much the trunk or stems contract as they pull water from their own tissues to keep up with transpiration during the day. This video to images is great.
This plant-based monitoring strategy helps crazy cattle 3d unblocked avoid both under- and over-irrigation, saving water and protecting yield.