Meanwhile, uncertainties about any remaining impact of the El Niño weather pattern on water supplies and strong doubts about possible deliveries of surface water are high on the mind of growers as they assess their 2016 production prospects.

“Generally, growers expect yields will be similar to last year,” Doll says. “A lot of new blocks of trees will be coming into production which will help compensate for older blocks being removed. 

However, a real wet spring could increase disease threat and hurt production.

Excess soil salinity levels remain a concern in some Merced County orchards, he adds. Ideally, growers would have been able to irrigate during dormancy to flush salts below the root zone.

With water in short supply, this may not have been possible for some growers. In that case, Doll recommends using surface water, if available, for in-season leaching.

“Depending on the quality of the water and salt levels in the soil, this may require applying about 10-30 percent more water than normal with each irrigation.”

For growers who fertigate, Doll advises to hold off nitrogen applications in irrigation water until leaves fully expand and begin to pull water. Otherwise, growers can risk harmful water saturation of the root zone.

“Usually, you don’t need to rush the first irrigation of the season to feed nitrogen since the trees should have ample levels of the nutrient in reserve,” Doll says.

“Until the leaves start pulling water they don’t remove much water or nitrogen from the root zone. Applying too much water before then can saturate the root-zone and create anaerobic conditions that can hurt the tree.”