Avocado and citrus orchards along the coast may use less water

Abstract

Most citrus and avocado water-use studies have been conducted in inland orchards; however, orchards located in coastal areas are subject to cooler temperatures and foggier atmospheric conditions. To develop coastal area crop coefficients (Kc values) for irrigation management, we measured orchard consumptive water use (ETc) from two different commercial orchards located near Ventura. In addition to coastal climate variability, the ETc measurements were complicated by the wide variability in field soil, slope and elevation. On average, we measured Kc values of 0.46 for young lemons, 0.52 for mature lemons and 0.64 for mature avocados. These values were slightly less than those published, perhaps as a result of greater fog conditions in the orchards as compared to those occurring at the nearest reference ET stations.