www.goodfruit.com Good Fruit Grower APRIL 1, 2016 43
—Water accurately. As much as possible, target irri-
gation only to the spots where the trees, and only the
trees, will use it. That means drip irrigation, something
the industry has been shifting toward for many years,
Kalcsits said.
—Use an irrigation scheduler. He suggested WSU's Ag
Weather Network, but other companies have designed
similar phone apps. "It takes weather data and environ-
mental data, and it tells you how much water it thinks the
tree is using," he said.
—Use soil moisture sensors. There's a variety of mod-
els, but they all measure water and changes in water over
time and offer a way to schedule irrigation even more
precisely. If you use a set irrigation schedule with no vari-
ation, you might irrigate too little or too much at different
points in the season.
•
TJ Mullinax/Good FruiT Grower
A weeder is pushed through a block of pears, mulching
and cultivating the soil around the base of the trees.
Maintaining a weed-free buffer helps minimize competition
for water and nutrients.
