BARRANCA, Peru — Agrokasa, a multi-faceted agricultural producer, has taken avocado growing to a new level of sophistication.

Its avocado orchard is ideally situated here, in a coastal region approximately 125 miles north of Lima.

“We have 3,000 acres of avocados, and the entire ranch is about 9,000 acres, so we really have no neighbors,” said Jose Chlimper, president of Agrokasa and a former minister of agriculture for Peru. “Also, it is a very hilly region, which minimizes wind that can be bad for avocados.”

Agrokasa’s Las Mercedes ranch is in an extremely arid region that receives just two to four millimeters of rain per year. Normally, this would be bad news for growing avocados, however the ranch’s location near a river emanating from the Andes Mountains gives it access to an abundant supply of water.

But Chlimper is still mindful of preserving that precious natural resource. To best do that, the company has a system in place to filter the water in open reservoirs before pumping it up to 10 covered reservoirs that each hold 130,000 cubic feet of water and sit several hundred feet above the avocado orchards. And being at elevation means gravity can be put to use to irrigate the trees without the need for further pumping.

Additionally, trees and fruit are outfitted with a sensor to measure contraction around their trunks. When the trunk contracts, it is an indication that the tree is thirsty and the irrigation system is triggered. When the trunk expands, the tree has had its fill and the irrigation system shuts down.

“It is not unlike people,” said Chlimper. “When you are thirsty, you drink and when you are not, you don’t. We let the trees tell us when they are thirsty so we only water them when they need it.”

In the orchards, Agrokasa workers meticulously care for the trees and fruit. Avocados exposed to direct sun are covered with avocado leaves to protect against sunburn. The leaves eventually fall to the ground and become part of the natural compost that nourishes the soil. It is a natural, inexpensive and efficient way to increase yields.

As another way to protect its water supply, Agrokasa breeds owls as a way of controlling the rodent population.

“Mice have a tendency to chew through the irrigation lines in search of water,” said Chlimper. “The owls help control the mice population so we can save water and the time and labor to fix the lines.”

Also, in keeping with the theme of self-sufficiency at Agrokasa, the company maintains 400 beehives and brings in more during the season to properly pollinate the trees.

The flowering season is late September to late November, and since Agrokasa has its own bees, it can better control the pollination period.

“We have enough bees in late September so we have fruit more evenly throughout the season,” said Chlimper. “We don’t get the big peaks throughout the season, which are not good for the market, the plants or the consumers. Intelligent management makes longer, smoother harvest and a predictable supply of fruit.”

When harvesting the fruit, workers carefully load it into field bins, using a special padding to minimize bruising.

For 2015, Chlimper predicts that total Hass avocado harvest from his Las Mercedes ranch would be about 21,000 metric tons, half of which is destined to the U.S. market. In three years, that volume could rise to 35,000 metric tons with all plants reaching maturity.

Agrokasa was also undergoing an expansion of its packinghouse early this season, which would double the number of avocado packinglines to four and increase the number of forced-air cooling tunnels to eight from four. The increased capacity will enable Agrokasa to handle 400 tons of fruit per day at peak season, according to Chlimper.