Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
ize labor efficiency, high fruit quality, and open canopies, rather than max-
imum yields. For your design, you will need to find a balance between yields
and efficiency that works for you.
Irrigation.
These trees will be irrigated using microsprinklers set into the
tree rows. The microsprinklers will irrigate the trees, alley crops, and living
mulches within tree rows, while still keeping the tree foliage and fruit dry.
The grower will use the Swiss sandwich system for in-row living mulches
alleys, typically grass or alfalfa. Underneath the trees and centered on the
tree row is a 2- to 3-foot-wide strip of herbaceous perennials, such as sweet
woodruff or grass. Between the in-row and alley cover crops are narrow
strips of bare earth along each side of the tree row.
Running irrigation lines up and down a slope would make uniform irriga-
tion difficult. Water pressure would be greatest at the lowest emitters, caus-
ing them to apply more water to the trees at the bottom of the slope than
to those higher up. When the irrigation pump is turned off, water from the
irrigation lines would drain out of the emitters near the bottom of the slope,
adding to the water already applied to those trees. Since cherry and peach
trees are quite susceptible to root diseases encouraged by wet soils, trees
at the lower edges of the planting blocks would likely suffer more disease
problems than those higher up. Additionally, cherries and peaches are par-
ticularly susceptible to iron chlorosis on alkaline soils (pH above 7.0), which
is aggravated by wet soils. Running the tree rows and irrigation lines across
the slope should reduce or eliminate these problems.
Non-crop areas.
The roadside stand is next to the highway, making it highly
visible and easy for customers to approach. It also provides a large, graveled
parking and turnoff area. The barn and equipment parking areas are inside
the orchard fence and away from customers. The design provides a safe, ef-
ficient traffic flow for farm operations, employees, and customers. Whenev-
