Rethink citrus irrigation if you are replanting BY LUCAS GREGORY
W
hat a year! Early signs of drought, lower than comfortable water levels in Amistad and Falcon reser voirs, a global pandemic and Hurricane Hanna! Saying that agriculture in the Rio Grande Valley has had a rough year may not be strong enough. Throughout it all, one thing has remained a constant; growers never seem to have the right amount of water when and where they need it. “Over the last nine months, irrigation conditions have been on a bit of a roller coaster,” said Dr. Lucas Gregory, senior research scientist at the Texas Water Resources Institute (TWRI), College Station.
16
Ag Mag THEAGMAG.ORG
Citrus grove damage following Hurricane Hanna (photo provided by Dale Murden, Texas Citrus Mutual)
“In mid-January, only the western part of Hidalgo County was in moderate drought conditions; by March all of the Valley was. Now with Hurricane Hanna not too far behind in the rearview mirror, drought is technically gone from the Valley.” Gregory said as of mid-February, Amistad and Falcon reservoirs sat at a combined storage capacity of about 54%, about 10% less than this time last year. In the middle of August, capacity in the two reservoirs sat just above 43%. One normal benefit of a hurricane is capturing runoff. “That really didn’t happen with Hurricane Hanna though,”
