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Wickson, Edward J. (Edward James), 1848-1923

"One Thousand Questions in California Agriculture Answered"

Standing water on dormant alfalfa is not injurious.

Trees Over High-Water.

Which are the best fruit trees to plant on black adobe soil with water
table between 3 and 4 feet from surface? The soil is very rich and
productive. The land is leveled for alfalfa also; will the alfalfa
disturb the growth of trees?
We would not plant such land to fruit at all, except a family orchard.
The fruits most likely to succeed are pears and pecans. On such land
alfalfa should not hurt trees unless it is allowed to actually strangle
them. The alfalfa may help the trees by pumping out some of the surplus
water.

Soil Suitable for Fruits.

I am sending samples of soil in which there are apricots and prunes
growing, and ask you to examine it with reference to its suitability for
other fruits. Will lemons thrive in this soil?
It is not necessary to have analysis of the soil. If you find by
experience that apricot and prune trees are doing well, it is a
demonstration of its suitability for the orange, so far as soil is
concerned. The same would also be a demonstration for soil suitability
for the lemon because the lemon is always grown on orange root. The
thing to be determined is whether the temperature conditions suit the
lemon and whether you have an irrigation supply available, because
citrus fruits, being evergreen, require about fifty per cent more
moisture than deciduous fruits, and they are not grown successfully
anywhere in this State without irrigation, except, possibly, on land
with underflow.


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