I learned in this thread,
to avoid any future attempt at educating you,
as its a complete waste of time.

ok...okokok...ok! Lichen, but they are still widely spread on the fig trees due to the moisture in the air at the evenings.

Oh, Jack, please don't STOP, I was just starting to enjoy your presents.  (OMG... I think I am going to vomit!)

Lichen are POIKILOHYDRIC,
do you know what that means ?
They can survive in extremely low levels of moisture,
they are NOT drawn to moisture, they don't necessarily need to grow in areas of high moisture.
Moisture levels are NOT the reason for their appearance.
Lichens survive in some of the harshest environments on the planet.

So your theory is completely wrong,
as your assumptions are not based on scientific facts,
and these facts continuously contradict your assumptions.

Like I said before,
just because you dream something idea up in your mind,
and at the same time lacking any actual knowledge or science behind your suppositions,
you come up with completely inaccurate and wild assumptions,
that you assume to be fact somehow.

There is a 7 seven letter word that is often used to describe this type of person,
starts with an A.

uh...yeah  JackASS , 7 letters?  LOL

Do you revel in looking like a fool ?

Why not be a man,
just admit you were completely wrong,
had no idea what you were talking about,
stop with the imbecillic misinformed theories/comments,
and come to the realization you know far far less than you think,

You could use this forum to enhance your knowledge,

instead of continuously displaying your ignorance for all to see.

Nothing from you can be beneficial, Thanks! now go away with your busy educated life.

Jack, I'm sorry but...I have to add this to your pain. (I just CAN'T be defeated by someone like you!)
-----------------------------------------------------------

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/02/13/1182388/-Dkos-Special-Series-Desert-Ecology-Of-The-Southwest#

Another adaptive technique is found in life forms that are classified as €œdrought evaders.€ These softer plants have even more radical adaptations. Moss, for instance, is a plant not commonly associated with deserts. Moss thrives because it can live through long periods of extreme drying. When water is unavailable, it literally dries up. Conversely, when water is plentiful, it soaks up moisture. The green tincture happens almost immediately. Mosses are usually found growing in the shade of larger plants or in cryptobiotic crust (see below). Meanwhile, do you know what this life form is having for its meal?
 
You guessed it: a big rock. Isn't it neat how Nature continues to both feed and dissolve its workers? I'm thinking.

Another extreme adaptation can be found in the Utah juniper tree (Juniperus osteosperma), one of the most common trees in the Southwest. The juniper tree, also commonly (and erroneously) called a cedar, requires copious amounts of water. During drought conditions, however, it shuts off water flow to one or more branches. Although this strategy kills only particular branches directed affected by a lack of water, the juniper tree preserves enough water to allow other parts to survive. There are also other desert plants that may likewise grow only in specialized habitats. For instance, moisture dependent monkey and Easter flowers and ferns thrive in well-shaded alcoves with dripping springs, while cottonwood, willows and cattail, which require copious amounts of water, thrive on river banks.

...But to remedy your pain, you'll find somethings about Lichen as well... if you keep reading further... ;)

What does an article about MOSS and deserts have to
do with LICHEN and high levels of humidity you comment on ?
I guess your still not grasping the fact that what you saw on fig trees
was LICHENS and not  Moss, and probably still don't realize these are
two separate organisms with different life cycles and biology.

My pain comes from your continued unabated ignorance on topics,
and your unwillingness to learn from your mistakes
or educate yourself along the way.

I only correct your comments,
so you will not misinform and confuse other members on this site with your incorrect information,
and common fallacies you continuously repeat.

But, please don't let me stop you from displaying your ignorance,
post away more of your valuable and informative facts.

Have a Happy 4th of July.

Hi,
In the Mediterranean zone, figtrees will survive with underground river flows . It is something you can't see and can have even in a dry area.
In a particular field, someone from the family knew where the path of an underground river was by looking at the corn she planted in that field.
She had always those rows of corn that would be greener with bigger crops because of that water running under the surface of the dirt and self pumped by the corn.
If you remember some photos posted here about figtrees (Madeira, Majorque), they are mostly near the house or in the wall surrounding a field - thus watered when the vegies, growing in the field, are watered .
As far as I know there is no figtree in the middle of the Sahara desert ... Except perhaps in some oasis .

As for cutting the watering, I would expect the tree to drop the fruits and grow slowly and less (thus less fruits in the figtrees?) , so that's a risky way of growing an orchard.
I would expect the trees to produce less, smaller fruits, and eventually die in the long run.
Here I have neighbors that never water or fertilize their figtrees - they all complain about having no crops to small crops.

Back to the newspaper, there no mention of the strain that is in the orchard and their figs are referred as "FIGS" as if they had "THE fig". We all know that there are plenty of figs so at least mentioning the color... That leads me to think
that the article is for general communication purposes and not for fig-breeders . So IMO, take that with a bit of salt .
I would rather think that they have warmer springs, thus a sooner harvest, than blame that on watering - Just IMO .
Last year, spring was cold, and the brebas harvest got three weeks of delay here and the figlets of the maincrop appeared around the tenth of July, when they showed up around the twentieth of June this year and they should normally show up around first of July.
Here, the spring this year has been a bit warmer than usual ... But I'm still waiting for my first fig bite !

As for the vines, do not forget that vines have really deep roots. In some rocky zones, the rocks are split with dynamite, and the vines are able to follow the cracks to reach nutrients and underground rivers.

jdsfrance, the paper is for all California Farm Bureau members.  The grower is from the northern end of the primary fig growing area in California where pretty much everyone grows Black Mission and Kadota for fresh market and Calimyrna for drying.

Our drought this year resulted in fewer nights of cloud cover so night time temperatures were lower than normal during the winter but days were warm and we did have a warm spring.

The area of soils with underground rivers is a tiny fraction of the area with a high static water table. In some cases there is some movement of the underground water but it would be inches per day or month. I'd not call that a river. It's just a high water table.

I did live in an area of CA with an underground river. It was east of Fresno on the Kings river draining Kings Canyon NP. There was also a tributary seasonal creek that crossed my property. The creek flowed all year but only on the surface in winter and spring following rains. Water table averaged about 3ft in winter and 6ft in summer on much of my property.