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Abstract
Irrigation recommendations for young pecan trees in Georgia’s Coastal Plains conditions with a loamy sand texture are available. Still, there is a dearth of irrigation research related to trees in Georgia’s Piedmont region, where the soils have a greater percentage of clay. The goal of this study during the 2021-2022 growing season was to ensure that young trees have an ample supply of water to promote new root growth while also preventing overirrigation. Soil-based measurements, laboratory soil water retention, in situ infiltration measurements, and ground penetrating radar data were collected. Recommendations were made to increase irrigation at the Piedmont region orchard by 37 liters/week and to decrease irrigation at the Coastal Plains region orchard by 341 liters/week. Thus, irrigation schedules need to be evaluated every growing season as the root systems of the trees mature, with additional soil moisture sensors installed to account for the spatial variance of soil moisture.