Valley farmers strive to save water Ag advisers help those who expect no federal supply.

Mar 4, 2009      The Fresno Bee

Robert Rodriguez

Mar. 4, 2009 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) -- Kenneth Shackel is feeling more like an emergency-room doctor than an agricultural researcher these days as he helps west Valley farmers cope with little to no irrigation water this season.

"It's like triage," said Shackel, a University of California at Davis pomologist and plant science professor. "For some, this isn't about controlling diseases or yields, it's about survival."

This year, west-side central San Joaquin Valley farmers will get no federal water, unless drought conditions improve dramatically. Growers normally receive their irrigation supply from Northern California rivers, but three consecutive dry winters have dried up supplies.

Hardest hit will be growers in the Westlands Water District, where officials estimate growers will fallow roughly half the district's 600,000 acres.

Among the crops closely being watched are almonds. They make up 70,000 acres within the district.

Statewide, almonds are a $2 billion crop, and Fresno County ranks as the state's leading producer. In 2007, the county's almond crop was valued at $511 million.

Scientists like Shackel know what's at stake, and researchers are taking a harder look at practices, including cutting a tree's canopy. Reducing a tree's leaf area reduces the demand for water.

"This is one of those things that is really untried with almonds," Shackel said. "But we are looking at lots of things right now."

He also has been in contact with researchers in Australia who are dealing with that country's severe drought. But the Australians are in the early stages of their research.

Brent Holtz, a UC Cooperative Extension farm adviser, is organizing a meeting March 31 at Panoche Creek Packing in Kerman to talk with almond growers about how to maximize what little water they have.

Already, Valley growers are taking drastic action to cope with the drought -- from bulldozing older trees to spraying chemicals to prevent nuts from developing.

"I'm telling people that if you don't have enough water to set a crop, don't spend $150 a hive to pollinate your trees," Holtz said.

One of the speakers at the almond meeting in Kerman will be David Goldhamer, an irrigation specialist at UC Davis, who has done research on using minimal amounts of water to keep almond trees alive.

The practice is called regulated-deficit irrigation.

"What happens is that the trees will become stressed and not set much of a crop," Holtz said. "But the trees stay alive."

Growers who pump water out of irrigation wells may be better off than those without any surface water, but well water can be high in salinity and boron.

Dan Munk, a UC Cooperative Extension farm adviser, said almond trees, unlike pistachios, are not highly salt-tolerant. Too much salt and boron can stunt new growth and cause leaf burn.

"And you could have some situations where the water is so bad that you may not want to irrigate your crop at all," Munk said.

"This is a tough situation."

The reporter can be reached at brodriguez@fresnobee.com or (559) 441-6327.

Newstex ID: KRTB-0069-32534367

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