Irrigation Zone Designer

How this zone designer works

Most backyard orchards run one valve or one program for a mixed planting. That’s efficient for your schedule, but risky for your trees: a mature avocado and a young lemon do not use water the same way. This tool treats the whole area as one hydraulic zone and sizes each tree line so the zone total meets peak summer demand for your location.

• Your zone & system: Zip code (for weather-based ETo), how long the zone runs today, how often it runs (every X days), water pressure, distribution uniformity, and whether you use micro-sprinklers or pressure-compensating (PC) drip emitters.
• Trees on this zone: Add each type (quantity and size). Canopy can use presets or a custom diameter—important for matching sprinkler throw to tree canopy.
• Results: Recommended run time (with a slider to explore options), per-tree status vs your current minutes, and a parts list with quantities for the catalog we use in the math.

Crop water needs use coefficients from the FAO Irrigation and Drainage Paper 56 (Table 12), the same science extension guides reference for fruit trees.

Who should use this tool?

• Homeowners with mixed backyard fruit trees on one irrigation zone
• Growers upgrading from hose watering to drip tubing or micro-sprinklers
• Anyone asking: “How long should I run my sprinklers for avocados and citrus on the same line?”
• California and similar climates where summer ETo drives peak irrigation demand

Also on our site: If your grove is mostly avocados, try our Avocado Irrigation Calculator for backyard and commercial schedules.

Tree types supported in the designer

The designer includes common backyard crops such as avocado, orange and lemon citrus, peach and apricot, apple and pear, mulberry, almond, pistachio, olive, and kiwi. Each line uses crop-specific water use and canopy assumptions you can refine on step 2.

Drip vs micro-sprinklers: what we calculate

• PC drip emitters: Sized by flow (GPH) at your pressure; rated for your PSI band in the parts catalog.
• Micro-sprinklers: Matched using wetted diameter / throw vs your tree canopy diameter so coverage reaches the root zone at peak demand.

We size for the hottest week of the past year in your area so the zone is less likely to fall short in mid-summer—not just “average” weather.

Frequently asked questions

Can I run avocados and citrus on the same irrigation zone?

You can on one timer program, but each tree type needs enough emitters and flow. This tool totals demand for the zone and flags tree lines that are under- or over-watered at your current run time.

How do I know how long to run drip irrigation for fruit trees?

Run time depends on ETo, crop type, canopy size, emitter output, how many days between waterings, and system uniformity. The designer converts those into hours per cycle for the whole zone at peak summer conditions.

What is peak ETo and why does my zip code matter?

Reference evapotranspiration (ETo) is atmospheric water demand. Fruit trees multiply ETo by a crop coefficient (Kc). We pull local ETo for your zip and stress-test against a peak summer week so recommendations aren’t too low when heat spikes.

What if my micro-sprinklers don’t reach the canopy?

For micro-sprinklers we compare catalog throw diameter at your PSI to your canopy. If throw is smaller than canopy, you may need more heads per tree or a different nozzle—shown in your per-tree results.

Is this for commercial orchards?

It’s built for backyard and small home zones with a simple tree list (e.g. “4 oranges, 2 avocados”). Large commercial blocks with multiple blocks and pressure zones need field design beyond a single-zone calculator.

Do I need an account?

No. Use the designer in your browser; results stay on screen.