My avocado tree used to have lots of green leaves and fruits. Now, the leaves are scarce and have brown tips, the branches are brown without new leaves. My avocado tree is old and tall, I can't guess the age. I attach some pictures to let you guys know the situation and i'm living in Southern California. Please help

I'm guessing it's suffering from lack of water in the root zone. Aside from our lack of rain, that small circle is preventing water to the feeder roots which should be growing as far as the limbs reach.

ctcarol said:I'm guessing it's suffering from lack of water in the root zone. Aside from our lack of rain, that small circle is preventing water to the feeder roots which should be growing as far as the limbs reach.

Thank you very much for reply. Since I bought the house 2 years ago, I set the watering system to water it for 10 mins everyday for 3 years. Later, I search on the internet and realize it's not enough water for the tree, but at the some time the tree root can not stand the wet soil. So now I water the tree only when I see the soil dry and I water it for 45 mins - 1 hour with small stream

The problem is that most of the roots are covered with concrete, so don't have access to your water. People plant trees without considering how large they will get when mature. I did! And much as I hated to part with that tree, I had it removed (* at some expense) because it was a hazard to my and my neighbor's property if it were to come down. If you were to drive down the 15 toward San Diego, you would see Avocado groves growing on the tops of those rocky hills. They need excellent drainage. I'm told they harvest them with Llamas, but I have no idea how they water them.