MANAGEMENT OF SOIL AND WATER IN DATE PALM ORCHARDS OF COACHELLA VALLEY, CALIFORNIA

Authors: Abdul Baki, Aref; ASLAN, SAM - NRCS

Submitted to: International Center for Agricultural Research in Dry Areas
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/24/2004
Publication Date: 6/1/2005
Citation: Abdul Baki, A.A., Aslan, S. 2004. Management of soil and water in date palm orchards of Coachella Valley, California. In: Proceedins of the Regional Workshop on Date Palm Development in the Arabian Peninsula. May 29-31, 2004, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. In press.

Interpretive Summary: This manuscript desribes soil and water management in date palm orchards of Coachella Valley, California, and Bard area, Arizona. Soil management focuses on applying economic solutions to the major soil problems. Soil stratification and compaction are overcome by strip plowing followed by cover crops and reduced tillage. Using leguminous cover crops and supplementing them with commercial fertilizer improve soil fertility, reduce loss of nutrients, and suppress weeds. Management of water has to take into account the type of soil, tree size, time of year, and availability of water. Date growers, and extension specialists in the United States are main users of this information. Other users are growers of grapevines, citrus, and vegetables in the the hot, arid areas of California and Arizona.

Technical Abstract: The Date palm (Pheonix dactyliphera) in the U.S. occupies an area of approximately 2428 hectares of land in Coachella Valley, southeast California, and 364 hectares in Bard, near Yuma, Arizona. The date palm tree was introduced into North America in the early part of the 20th Century. During the early years, over 100 varieties were evaluated in Texas, Arizona, and California for adaptability and performance. Present varieties include Deglet Noor, Mejhool, Khadrawi and Zahidi. Annual rainfall in the date production averages about 75 mm. Consequently, all orchards depend on irrigation from the Colorado River. The two commonly used methods for water delivery are flood-basin irrigation and drip irrigation. The former is used for bearing-age orchards; the latter for date nurseries and newly planted orchards up to five years. Water management is governed by many important factors including orchard age, availability of water and soil properties which include texture, compaction, stratification, low fertility and high salinity. Soil management operations are designed to overcome major problems that limit tree growth and yield. These include slip plowing prior to planting the orchard, reducing the use of heavy machinery in field operations, maintaining adequate levels of soil fertility, controlling weeds, and leaching excessive salts. All these operations impact tree vigor, yield and fruit quality.