How Much Water for Oranges?
How much water would you consider absolutely necessary to carry to
full-bearing citrus trees an clay loam-that is, how many acres to a
miner's inch, figuring nine gallons per minute to the inch?
It would, of course, depend upon the age of the trees, as old bearing
trees may require twice as much as young trees. We would estimate for
bearing trees, on such retentive soil, 30-acre inches per year applied
in the way best for the soil.
Damping-off.
My orange seed-bed stack has "damp-off." Same say "too much water;" "not
enough water;" "put on lime;" etc. I use a medium amount of water and
more of my stack is affected than that of any other grower. One man has
kept his well soaked since planting, and only about six plants were
affected. Another has used but little water, keeping them very dry; he
has lost none.
Damping-off is due to a fungus which attacks the tender growth when
there is too much surface moisture. It may be produced by rather a small
amount of water, providing the soil is heavy and the water is not
rapidly absorbed and distributed. On the other hand, a lighter soil
taking water more easily may grow plants without damping-off, even
though a great deal more water has been used than on the heavier soil.
Too much shade, which prevents the sun from drying the surface soil, is
also likely to produce damping-off, therefore, one has to provide just
the right amount of shade and the right amount of ventilation through
circulation of the air, etc.
Pages:
315
316
317
318
319
320
321
322
323
324
325
326
327
328
329
330
331
332
333
334
335
336
337
338
339