Water Needs for Stone Fruit

Stage 1 - Budburst and flowering to beginning of rapid shoot growth. Tree water needs increase as cell division occurs and the canopy starts to develop. At the end of this stage you will a Crop Factor of 0.6. Tensiometer readings should be kept between 8 and 40 kPa. Stage 2 - Beginning of rapid shoot growth to beginning of fruit fill. Fruit growth is slow, shoot growth is fast and water use is stable. Crop factors generally maintained at 0.6. Tensiometers should still be kept between 8 and 40 kPa. If using RDI the crop factor can be less, perhaps 0.3 and soil moisture can be allowed to dry to 200 kPa.	Recommended soil moisture levels of peach, at different growth stages.
Stage 3 - Beginning of fruit fill to harvest (4 - 8 weeks). Fruit growth is rapid and needs large amounts of water to reach its potential size. Fruit still has the same number of cells that have to be filled to enlarge the fruit. The tree will hurriedly need more water. Crop factors need to increase to 1 - 1.2 and soil moisture should be showing as 8 - 40 kPa on the Tensiometers. Stage 4 - harvest to leaf fall when fruit is harvested water requirements drops dramatically and the weather may result in less losses from evaporation. However, water is still needed to maintain healthy leaves. the crop factor will be around 0.4 and the soil could be allowed to dry to 200 kPa. Stage 5 - Leaf fall to Budburst and flowering. The trees no longer need irrigation as they have entered the dormant phase. Soil moisture monitoring will need to commence in spring to determine when to apply the first irrigation. (Source: Guide to best practice water management - orchard crops, Page 25)
Water Needs for Pears
Stage 1 - Budburst and flowering to beginning of rapid shoot growth. Tree water needs increase as cell division occurs and the canopy starts to develop. At the end of this stage you will a Crop Factor of 0.6. Tensiometer readings should be kept between 8 and 40 kPa. Spring rain will determine the amount of irrigation required. Stage 2 - Beginning of rapid shoot growth to beginning of fruit fill. During this stage of the cycle, fruit growth is slow and shoot growth rapid. The crop factor should be between 0.6 and 0.8 with soil moisture tension maintained at 8 - 40 kPa. If using RDI the crop factor can be 0.2 and the soil moisture can decrease to 200kPa.	Pear growth stages
Stage 3 - Beginning of fruit fill to harvest Careful irrigation management is essential at this stage to allow rapid fruit growth and ensuring the largest potential size. Crop factors are 1.0 -1.1 and soil moisture tension should be held between 8 - 40 kPa. Stage 4 - harvest to leaf fall Post harvest tree water needs reduce but enough needs to be applied to maintain leaf cover and maintain tree health. Crop factor should be around 0.4 and soil moisture values can move to 200 kPa. Stage 5 - Leaf fall to Budburst and flowering. Trees are entering dormancy and no longer require water. soil moisture needs to be monitored carefully at the start of the spring to determine when first irrigations may be needed. (Source: Guide to best practice water management - orchard crops, Page 26)
Water Needs for Apples
Stages 1 and 2 - Budburst and flowering to the beginning of fruit fill. From the start of flowering and when the tree starts to produce leaves until the beginning of fruit fill, Crop Factor increase to 0.6. Soil moisture tension needs to be 8 - 40 kPa. There is no real time when the fruit grows slowly (apple fruit growth rate is steady from about 6 - 7 weeks after budburst until harvest). This means that crop factors will not vary sharply as for pears. It also means that there is little or no time to apply RDI (the fruit cells are either dividing or growing). Stage 3 - Beginning of fruit fill to harvest. Fruit continually grows at a steady rate. The crop factor increases to 0.8 before harvest. Soil moisture tension should be kept between 8 and 40 kPa.	Apple growth stages
Stage 4 - Harvest to leaf fall. After harvest tree water requirements decline. The crop factor should be 0.4 but for continued health of foliage the Tensiometers should be kept between 8 - 40 kPa. Stage 5 - Leaf fall to Budburst and flowering. Trees no longer require irrigation because they are entering dormancy. Soil moisture still needs to be monitored at the start of spring to make sure irrigation is started prior to the next growth cycle. (Source: Guide to best practice water management - orchard crops, Page 27) Irrigation benchmarks 1998/99 Use this table as a general guide to tree water use and efficiency.
Water Applied (ML/ha) Water Use Efficiency (t/ML) Location Crop Irrigation System No. of Sites Average Range No. of sites Average Range Shepparton Pear Micro 11 5 3.3-6.8 11 9.3 6.3-15.2 " Sprinkler 1 6.3 - 1 12.9 - " Flood 3 6.8 3.6-10.3 3 8.5 6.6-10.5 Apple Micro 1 4.2 - 1 24.8 - " Sprinkler 1 9.4 - 1 13.8 - " Flood 1 11 - 1 4 - Peach Micro 4 6.6 5-7.9 3 7.6 4.7-9.5 Cobram Pear Sprinkler 1 7 - 1 6.6 - Peach Micro 4 6.4 4.4-8.1 3 7.4 6-10.1 " Sprinkler 1 7.1 - 1 9.6 - Swan Hill E.Peach/Nectarine Micro 5 5.7 2.8-10.6 4 4.4 2.5-7.5 " Flood 1 4.8 - 1 4.7 - L.Peach/Nectarine Micro 3 8.7 5.5-13.1 3 3.5 1.5-5.1 (Source: Guide to best practice water management - orchard crops, Page 85)