Avocado and citrus orchards along the coast may use less water

The cooler temperatures and high fog levels of coastal orchards may reduce the water requirements for avocados and citrus, which are more typically grown in hotter inland orchards. Orchard consumptive water was measured at two commercial orchards in Ventura, on the coast of southern California. These data were used to calculate coastal area crop coefficients. Variables in soil, slope, and elevation further complicated the water consumptive values. The coefficients of 0.46 for young lemons, 0.52 for mature lemons, and 0.64 for mature avocados were somewhat lower than those for inland orchards.