ISHS Acta Horticulturae 278: Symposium on Scheduling of Irrigation for Vegetable Crops under Field Condition
A SIMPLE METHOD FOR SCHEDULING IRRIGATION AND MEASURING EVAPOTRANSPIRATION FOR VEGETABLE CROPS |
| Authors: | M.N. Nimah, I. Rubeiz, B. Miribi |
| Abstract:
Unheated greenhouses as media to grow high value vegetable crops are spreading rapidly in areas of mild climates. Water use or evepotranspiration of greenhouse vegetables is not well established yet. This study intended to assess the evaporation from several simple evaporation pans placed inside an unheated greenhouse with that of A.S. class A pan placed outside the greenhouse, and to select the proper evaporimeter for scheduling irrigation in the greenhouse. Evaporimeters used were made of aluminum or plastic, with different plastic colors, and diameters that varied from 40 to 60 cm. Evaporation from the plastic pans were better correlated with evaporation from the class A pan than evaporation from the aluminum pans. Plastic color had no effect on evaporation depth. Evaporation increased as the container diameter decreased. Evaporation from a blue plastic pan of 50 cm internal diameter was 50% of that of the class A pan. Greenhouse cucumbers actual evapotranspiration, as measured by soil moisture depletion, was 80% of that of the blue plastic pan. Plastic pans provide a convenient and reliable method to measure evapotranspiration and schedule irrigation for vegetables grown inside unheated greenhouse. | |
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