Drip irrigation emitters over elevation change

[plowhog]

Over the past few years I've planted about 30 bare root apple trees. Three out of 30 died, all the rest are doing nicely. All are protected from deer by wire fencing. (that ... was a lot of work!)

Today I discovered a dead one, in the exact same place where I already replaced a dead one last year. This seems very odd.

There are gophers in the area, so that might be an issue. (I will try the "road flare" trick on them soon.) I have protected all the young trees with wire fabric gopher cages in the same manner. And I don't see any gopher evidence near this tree.

The other variable is this particular location is the lowest elevation of any of the trees. My drip irrigation line winds from tree to tree, including "down" to this one then farther "up" to more trees. It is only a gentle slope, but I am wondering if the low elevation might cause it to be overwatered compared to others? From the "highest" tree to the "lowest," it is probably only 6 feet of elevation change.

The soil is excellent, call it fantastic. Drains really well. So I don't think overwatering is an issue-- but I can't think of anything else?

 

[chris the wrench]

I use to farm wine grapes(semi-professional). We had the rows going down a steep hill. All the water was gravity fed through drip emitters. I was getting very inconsistent growth and occasional vine die off. Eventually I stuck about 15-20 5 gallon buckets down one row(all on same drip line) at various points along the length. I let the system run about 4-5 hours, and i got significantly different water levels in those buckets. My solution was to swap out drip fittings until i got them kinda close(sometimes up sizing or downsizing). My method wasn’t scientific and I was never sure if my issue was elevation change or the gravity feed. I sold that property before I really got it dialed.

However, The folks at dripworks have been very helpful for me with other projects since then.

For what its worth…