Fiji Drought

[jcaldeira]

It's been nearly five full months since the western and northern parts of Fiji's main islands received significant rain.  Some water wells and bore holes have dried up, and government is transporting water by barge and truck to some affected areas.   Livestock farmers are culling herds due to lack of forage, and moving their stock to neighboring areas to find grass.  Vegetable farmers can't plant and are harvesting some crops prematurely.  Wild fires are increasingly problematic despite a fire ban.  Hydro-power electric plants are expected to start running short of water within a month.

My farm's bore hole is still providing enough water for my household needs, but not enough to keep all 15 acres properly watered, or to give to more than one or two neighbors. 

I'm learning a lot about which young tree species are most drought resistant.  Citrus tolerance is disappointing.  I'm focused on keeping the most exotic fruit trees alive and to preserve maximum fruit diversity. Mature trees are doing much better than the younger ones.   A few mostly sad photos from my farm:

Soursop is trying to hang onto a few fruit while shedding many leaves.  Young coconut and sugar cane are suffering
   

Papaya, Banana/Plaintain and Breadfruit have shed most leaves
   

Some trees, such as this little Jackfruit and Mulberry, are still trying to fruit:
 

Citrus fares poorly on most of my soils despite hardy rough lemon rootstock.  Here's one of the worst:


Black Sapote, Star Apple, Jamaican Cherry, Ice Cream Bean, Abiu, Langsat. and avocado are doing okay with a little supplemental watering.

Among the most drought resistant on my soil are Mango, Sapodilla, Cinnamon, Macadamia, Cashew and Sandalwood (Yasi)
   
        

Of course I'm watering the shadehouse but I need rain before I can collect scion wood for grafting, and to plant out.
   

Chance of rain tomorrow. . . .

[ben mango]

nice pics,, besides the ones you mentioned a few others that I've seen do well in drought conditions are jujube , surinam cherry and pomegranate

[nullzero]

You don't have any dragon fruit? Would consider planting Cereus sp. and Opuntia sp. (have to check on individual selections tolerance to moisture especially for fruit set). They will always produce drought or no drought. The pictures look more like Southern, CA then Fuji,.

[jcaldeira]

nice pics,, besides the ones you mentioned a few others that I've seen do well in drought conditions are jujube , surinam cherry and pomegranate

My Surinam Cherry is doing well.  Pomegranate not so well - lost most of their leaves.  My climate is probably too tropical for Jujube.

You don't have any dragon fruit? Would consider planting Cereus sp. and Opuntia sp. (have to check on individual selections tolerance to moisture especially for fruit set). They will always produce drought or no drought. The pictures look more like Southern, CA then Fuji,.

My Dragon Fruit is doing well.  I would like to get some Prickly Pear, but I doubt I can find it in Fiji.  Can it be grown from the supermarket fruit?

I'm hoping most of my trees will recover.  The last serious drought here was in 1997, with a moderate drought in 2007.

[Saltcayman]

Hang in there john!  I feel your pain and experience a yearly and sometimes twice yearly drought that lasts two or three months.  Deep mulching really helps if you can find enough material.  My favorite material is casuarina needles(branches) and seaweed(sea grass) . A small wood-chipper is great if you have enough scrub to run through it. 
   I have had similar drought tolerance with mature trees of black Sapote, jamaican cherry and mulberry.  In addition, Neem is also very drought tolerant as is guinup, tamarind, nance, jambolan plum, and Indian jujube which will fruit in the tropics.  My star apples have not survived although that may be due to high ph soil issues.  Still trying.
   Good luck.  I will do a rain dance for all of you there.

Best,  Dave

[nullzero]

nice pics,, besides the ones you mentioned a few others that I've seen do well in drought conditions are jujube , surinam cherry and pomegranate

My Surinam Cherry is doing well.  Pomegranate not so well - lost most of their leaves.  My climate is probably too tropical for Jujube.

You don't have any dragon fruit? Would consider planting Cereus sp. and Opuntia sp. (have to check on individual selections tolerance to moisture especially for fruit set). They will always produce drought or no drought. The pictures look more like Southern, CA then Fuji,.

My Dragon Fruit is doing well.  I would like to get some Prickly Pear, but I doubt I can find it in Fiji.  Can it be grown from the supermarket fruit?

I'm hoping most of my trees will recover.  The last serious drought here was in 1997, with a moderate drought in 2007.

Can plant from seed, may take a while but here are some seeds of a good commercial Mexican variety.
http://www.rareseeds.com/reina-prickly-pear-cactus-fruit/

[simon_grow]

I'm sorry about the drought in your neck of the woods. I wonder if severe pruning would help reduce your plants need for water, at least until the rain shows up again?

Simon

[MangoFang]

John - so sorry to hear about your terrible drought.  Of course we have one going on now
here in California, but your's being entirely dependent on wells - that would be very tough.

The thing about Mangoes and drought, I remember I had one for years that just didn't grow well
at all, and I wondered why.  Well, when I finally checked the water line going to it, I saw that it
was down to a tiny trickle.  That tree survived and looked pretty much OK on maybe a few thimble
fulls of water for a long long time, just small.  So, for me it was a problem that they handle the drought so
well!  I had no idea it was suffering...

Anyway, I hope you get some nice rain, soon, John!

Gary

[jcaldeira]

I'm sorry about the drought in your neck of the woods. I wonder if severe pruning would help reduce your plants need for water, at least until the rain shows up again?

Simon

I started pruning the citrus today.  I had been delaying because I thought we'd get some rain.  Not severe pruning, but getting the low branches and the highest branches off.  Thanks for suggesting. 

[EvilFruit]

You should add Marula to your wonderful collection.

Good luck and Eid Mubarak.

[Saltcayman]

I'm sorry about the drought in your neck of the woods. I wonder if severe pruning would help reduce your plants need for water, at least until the rain shows up again?

Simon

I started pruning the citrus today.  I had been delaying because I thought we'd get some rain.  Not severe pruning, but getting the low branches and the highest branches off.  Thanks for suggesting.

Here is some general advice on caring for trees during drought. Pruning now may not be a good idea.  I would wait until it rains.  Hope it helps.

http://www.treepeople.org/whats-best-way-care-tree-during-drought

What's the best way to care for a tree during a drought?
Depending on the species of tree and where it’s planted, trees may need some extra help during drought conditions.

Extended droughts can cause decline and death on both young and mature trees. Even large trees more than one hundred years old can decline. It’s better to apply water preventively before the tree canopy begins losing foliage than to wait until these symptoms are advanced.

Water is one of the most important things trees need.
Do not water near the trunk unless you’ve planted the tree within the last four or five years. Instead, water the area under the drip-line (edge of the branches) where the tree’s root system extends.
Water slowly, this allows water to adhere to soil particles on its way down. Soaker hoses and drip irrigation work well.
Mulch is a gardener’s best friend. A three to four inch layer of wood chips spread on bare ground will reduce water evaporation, insulate roots from heat, keep the weeds away, and give a home to beneficial microorganisms.
Avoid over-fertilizing your trees or you may find that sap-sucking insects such as aphids, white fly and scale are paying you a warm weather visit. Pest populations, including insects and disease, increase rapidly with warmer weather. Keep things in balance and you’ll reduce your problems.
Mature trees: We often take our large trees for granted and forget that they can decline in health during extended drought. Most people don’t realize the tree is in trouble because symptoms appear first in the top center portion of the canopy far from view.
Do not prune live branches in a severe drought. Removing live tissues forces the tree to expend energy to defend against the pruning cuts. Removing live foliage also reduces the capacity of the tree to grow once rains return.
Do not fertilize trees in extended drought since this pulls water from the roots and forces the tree to expend precious energy to process the fertilizer.
Do not dig under the canopy of the tree in drought. Digging under the tree kills the small roots that absorb water, thus reducing the tree's capacity to uptake water.

[jcaldeira]

Approximately two weeks ago my farm received 30mm (1"+) rain.   We need more, but it's made a world of difference to the plant life.
We're entering the rainy season soon, so there's a good chance for more rain within a few weeks.

Here's a post-drought shot of a calomondin and lemon I took this morning.  Most citrus lost more than half their leaves but are trying to recover:

[Mike T]

It is the same here with only 20mm in the last 3 months.It is an uncharacteristic dustbowl and everything is suffering.