Cold-hardy citrus producers in the U.S. state of Georgia are assessing orchard conditions following last weekend's winter storm, with attention now shifting from freeze protection to water management.
According to Lindy Savelle, Executive Director of the Georgia Citrus Association, water played a central role in protecting citrus trees from sub-freezing temperatures and strong wind chills. With temperatures rising, the priority has become removing excess water from groves as quickly as possible.
"You don't want to use any more water than you need to, for conservation purposes as well as preventing root rot. You've got to get that field drained of water," Savelle said. "Growers need to be looking at how best to get this water out of the field. We're very fortunate that our grove is planted on a higher rise than the rest of our farm, so it drains off."
Savelle warned that standing water in citrus groves increases the risk of phytophthora and root suffocation, which can lead to tree decline or mortality.
"Citrus doesn't like wet feet. It doesn't like to be mucky," Savelle said. "The sooner that we can get the water off the tree roots, the better it will be for the tree.
"Hopefully, growers didn't plant their groves where they're going to retain water. That's one of the first things I tell people. You need land that drains well, because if it doesn't drain well, you don't need to be putting citrus there."
Savelle, who farms at JoNina Farm in Thomas County and Mitchell County, said irrigation was applied continuously during the cold event. Watering began Saturday morning and continued through Monday morning.
"We did put down a whole lot of water — 14 gallons per hour per tree. We ran it for 48 hours, that's a lot of water on the trees," Savelle said.
In addition to managing drainage, growers are being advised to monitor orchards over the coming months for freeze-related damage. Savelle noted that some symptoms may not become visible until much later in the season.
"You're going to have dieback on tree limbs. You just need to give that time to surface. It could be well into the summer before you see all of the damage. It takes months for that to show up," he said.
Source: Citrus Industry
