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Oranges Over High Ground Water

Categories: Soils, Fertilizers and Irrigation

Does California experience show that citrus trees can be grown upon land

successfully where the water-level is 6 feet from the surface; that is,

where water is found at that level at all seasons and does not appear to

rise higher during the rainy season?



We do not know of citrus trees in California with ground-water

permanently at six feet below the surface. If the soil should be a free

loam and the capil
arity therefore somewhat reduced, orange trees would

probably be permanently productive. If the soil were very heavy,

capillary rise might be too energetic and saturate the soil for some

distance above the water-level. In a free soil without this danger the

roots could approach the water as they find it desirable and be

permanently supplied. Orange trees are largely dependent upon a shallow

root system, the chief roots generally occupying the first four feet

below the surface. From this fact we conclude that deep rooting is not

necessary to the orange, although unquestionably deep rooting and deep

penetration for water are desirable as allowing the tree to draw upon a

much greater soil mass and therefore be less dependent upon frequent

irrigations and fertilizations.



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