Evapotranspiration and crop coefficient of drip irrigated watermelon in Piaui coastline, Brazil .

The knowledge of the evapotranspiration (ETc) and crop coefficient (Kc) is fundamental to plan and to manage the irrigation of any crop. The aim of this study was to determine the daily and hourly evapotranspiration of drip irrigated watermelon (Citrullus Lanatus, var. Crimson Sweet) and crop coeffi...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: BASTOS, E. A., SILVA, C. R., RODRIGUES, B. H. N., ANDRADE JUNIOR, A. S. de, IBIAPINA, L. M. M.
Format: article
Status:Published version
Publication Date:2012
Country:Brasil
Institution:Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária (Embrapa)
Repository:Repositório Institucional da EMBRAPA (Repository Open Access to Scientific Information from EMBRAPA - Alice)
Language:English
OAI Identifier:oai:www.alice.cnptia.embrapa.br:doc/940704
Online Access:http://www.alice.cnptia.embrapa.br/alice/handle/doc/940704
Access Level:Open access
Keyword:Consumo hídrico
Citrullus Lanatus
Lisímetro
Description
Summary:The knowledge of the evapotranspiration (ETc) and crop coefficient (Kc) is fundamental to plan and to manage the irrigation of any crop. The aim of this study was to determine the daily and hourly evapotranspiration of drip irrigated watermelon (Citrullus Lanatus, var. Crimson Sweet) and crop coefficient (Kc) in each crop development phase. The experiment was carried out in an experimental area of 1.27 ha of Embrapa Mid-North, localized in Parnaíba (02°54?S, 41°47?W and 46 m above of sea), State of Piauí, Brazil, from September to November, 2006. Electronic weighing lysimeters of 1.5 m x 1.5 m wide and long and 1.0 m deep were used to obtain the evapotranspiration. The plants were drip irrigated with a lateral row per plant row and drippers spaced 0.5 m from each other. The reference evapotranspiration (ETo) was estimated using the Penman-Monteith equation from the climatic data obtained by electronic sensors. The total evapotranspiration during the watermelon crop cycle cultivated in the state of Piauí was 233.87 mm, with mean values of 3.7 mm day-1 , minimum of 1.18 and maximum of 8.14 mm day-1 . The Kc of the drip irrigated watermelon was 0.18 in the initial stage of crop growth; 0.18 to 1.3, in crop development stage; 1.3 in the intermediate stage and 0.43 in the final stage.