Fruit tree irrigation

[Beon]

Im new to farming, and trying to understand the best option for irrigation of my fruit trees.

I've not decided yet what trees I will plant, but most likely Lime, Orange, Som Oh, Mango, Banana and Coconut.

I see most people use a sprinkler system and let it run in morning once every three days?

I have an old rice farm surrounded by irrigation canals on all sides. The water comes from a nearby dam for 5 days in a row and is then closed for 10 days. It seems to me that the watering could take care of itself if I just put some pipes in the ground to lead the water from the canal to each tree?

Have you seen this done before? I can see that the trees might not get the optimum water on/off frequency, and that it could be hard to give them the correct amount of water (not flooding, not too dry).

It also looks like most popular fruit tree species pretty much take care of themselves once they get a few years old. The roots go deep enough to reach ground water even in the winter. Is this correct? We just dug a well on my land and the water started to come 1.5m down.

Thanks in advance for any input.

[geordie]

I am not a farmer but the irigation system you talk about is straightforward enough as long as you restrict the water flowing from the irigation ditches so that you do not drown the trees and end up with paddy feilds
you will also need to dig a tank (large) to supply when the dam is closed the idea being that in between times you water via a pump from the tank leaving the trees without water for ten days at a time i suspect will seriously effect the crop size
One thing i do know is you have top take care of the trees a bit more than throw water at them every couple of days humans are not the only consumer all sorts of bugs will be in there feasting on them
You have water at 1.5 meters at the moment this will vary with the season april you may need a borehole september you could be pumpimg water into the drainage ditches look around the area and see what grows well with minimum care

[runker]

I would look into soaker hose or some form of drip to keep the run off at a minimum and keep the waste down.

[geordie]

in london clay soil cold and wet in comparison when the local authority plant young trees saplings on the footway at the base of each tree they insert a 2" leech pipe with a small coil this puts water direct to the root system species vary but i have seen them in isolated spots with notices on them requesting that in dry weather they require 1-1/2--2gallons of water a day and usually the benificiary of the tree will chuck some water on it a simple matter with good mains pressure to put a hose into the leech pipe for a couple of minuites it gets more complicated with several hundred trees but the principal stays the same

[Beon]

in london clay soil cold and wet in comparison when the local authority plant young trees saplings on the footway at the base of each tree they insert a 2" leech pipe with a small coil this puts water direct to the root system

Ive seen the locals using old plastic bottles turned upside down, and then put on a stick near the plant. Not sure if thats for some liquid fertilizer dripping down or simply for providing water. Got to get together with some local plant experts, Ive got a lot to learn here.

I'll be having approx 300 trees, so gotta find a convenient solution. Might be best to put a temporary sprinker system in place for 2-3 years, and then remove it once the trees are large enough.

Thanks for the replies.

[geordie]

i would be equally concerned about the fact you have to spray regularly to keep the bugs off
my sister in law grows eucalyptus and is into her third year but it apears to be low maintainance it would have to be her brother is a lazy s..t alergic to work another guy i know is working his b.....ks off with oranges== water== fertilizer== bug spray weeding i would definately do an awful lot of research before planting especially as it will be a few years before you get the benefit around chayaphum most farmers put in a few fruit trees for their own benefit around the paddies but they are merely subsidising their diet one thing i considered was potatoes which cost more over there than in the uk but the thais are not big on chips so selling in large quantitys could be a problem or open a chip shop ???