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Crop Coefficient for Mulched Cotton Under Variable Irrigation Regimes

G. V. Prajapati1, R. Subbaiah1*, A. N. Kunapara1, N. S. Vithlani1and J. J. Makwana1

DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.12944/CWE.11.2.37

Reduced cost of cultivation (30%) and increase in yield (40%) obliged the Saurashatra farmers to adopt Bt. Cotton on mass scale. Saurashtra cotton earns more profit at international market due to good luster, low naps, more wax on fibers surface, very low dye absorption. High evaporative conditions, scarcity of groundwater, and deficient rainfall condition are detrimental to cotton yields. Climatic change is adding another dimension to this complex nexus of soil-water-plant-atmosphere. Adverse environmental conditions coupled with water scarcity intrigued farmers of this region to adopt drip irrigation with mulch in Bt. Cotton for mitigating the impact of climatic aberrations. Determination of actual crop evapotranspiration during crop growing season is highly advantageous for sound irrigation scheduling. So far no study is reported to develop crop coefficient for drip irrigated biodegradable mulch cotton subjected to variable irrigation regimes. An experiment was undertaken consecutively for two years (2013-14 and 2014-15) to address this issue. Diurnal and temporal variation of soil moisture with depth was monitored using soil moisture sensors at irrigation regimes 1.0 IW/ETc and 0.8 IW/ETc. The control treatment was taken as drip with no mulch. Adjusted FAO Kcpredict higher value than sensor based Kcvalues at both irrigation regimes. Sensor based Kc-midvalues were lower by 12.99% and 30.04% than the adjusted FAO Kc-midvalue at 1.0 IW/ETcand 0.8 IW/ETcrespectively. Biodegradable plastic mulch reduced Kc-inivalue by 72.26% and 66.54% over control at 1.0 IW/ETcand 0.8 IW/ETcrespectively. Overestimated adjusted FAO Kcvalues caused a loss of 78.13mm and 66.54mm of precious water at 1.0 IW/ETcand 0.8 IW/ETcrespectively. This study admonishes blind adoption of published FAO Kccurves, for mulch conditions.


Biodegradable mulch; Crop coefficient; Drip irrigation; Moisture regimes

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Prajapati G. V, Subbaiah R, Kunapara A. N, Vithlani N. S, Makwana J. J. Crop Coefficient for Mulched Cotton Under Variable Irrigation Regimes. Curr World Environ 2016;11(2) DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.12944/CWE.11.2.37

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Prajapati G. V, Subbaiah R, Kunapara A. N, Vithlani N. S, Makwana J. J. Crop Coefficient for Mulched Cotton Under Variable Irrigation Regimes. Curr World Environ 2016;11(2). Available from://www.a-i-l-s-a.com/?p=14270


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Article Publishing History

Received: 2016-02-06
Accepted: 2016-06-27

Introduction

Cotton is an important commercial crop in the world. Indian economy continues to receive great support from the most important commercial fibre crop. However, the productivity of cotton crop is still below the potential because of high evaporative conditions, scarcity of groundwater, deficient rainfall, and poor water management practices like poor scheduling of cotton during water scarce conditions, lack knowledge on the frequency of irrigation during low availability of water, low water application efficiencies, water use efficiencies in surface irrigation practices and climatic conditions with poor and erratic rainfall. Therefore in irrigated areas, irrigation scheduling is a main factor for farmers to increase crop yield and save water.

Adverse environmental conditions coupled with water scarcity intrigued farmers of this region to adopt drip irrigation with mulch in Bt. Cotton for mitigating the impact of climatic aberrations. Proper irrigation scheduling is prime requirement for on farm water management.3Determination of crop evapotranspiration (ETc) is fundamental requirement for scheduling. Crop coefficient (Kc) algorithm method is most popular to estimate ETc.2

ETc=Kc×ET0

Doorenbos and Pruitt (1977) recommended accepted equations for computation of ETo. Recently, the FAO-561suggested Penman-Monteith (P-M) combination equation. Various tabulated values of Kcobtained from field and lysimeter ETcmeasurements provided in literature.2,6,7,8,9Use of Kcapproach is indisputable but its adoption for generalizing Kccurves can lead to errors.5As it is difficult to develop locally Kcvalues, most researcher dependent on published values. No study is reported to develop crop coefficient for drip irrigated biodegradable mulch cotton subjected to variable irrigation regimes in this region. The objective is to develop the Kccurves for drip irrigated mulched cotton using soil moisture sensors installed at different depth for the period 2013-2015. Generalized FAO Kcvalues adjusted for local climate and management compared with Sensor based Kc.

Materials and Methods

Experiment was conducted at Junagadh Agricultural University (21°30’ N, 70°27’ E and 77.5 above mean sea level) for two consecutive years during Kharif season of 2012-13 and 2013-14 to develop the Kc曲线为滴灌灌溉可生物降解塑料μlched (20 micron) cotton (Hy-6, BG-II) with irrigation regimes; 1.0 IW/ETc (I1) and 0.8 IW/ETc (I2) along with no mulch. Soil is sandy loam (1-1.5m depth) with volumetric water content at field capacity and wilting point determined at 39 and 15% respectively. Two cotton seeds were sown at 2.5cm depth directly through the holes made on the mulch film. Thinning as well as gap filling was done after germination of plants. The recommended package of agronomical practices was adopted. Recommended dose of fertilizer (160:0:120 NPK kg/ha) was applied. Fifty per cent N and K fertilizers was given as basal before spreading the mulching sheet. The remaining N and K was given as four equal splits at vegetative, bud formation, flowering and boll development stages was applied through drip irrigation. Irrigation water applied using heavy duty black colored LLDPE lateral line of 16 mm diameter x 2.5 kg/cm2with emitter discharge of 2 lph with spacing of 0.4m.

Determination of FAO KcCurves

Kcis determined for three cases. First case is determination of crop coefficient as per the FAO approach. The second case is the determination of Kcfor a particular mulch as suggested by FAO 56. The third is determination of Kcfor a particular mulch and for a particular irrigation interval as per the sensor based daily observations.

Kc for no Mulch as per FAO 56

Kcfor the initial stage (Kc ini) calculated using procedure suggested by FAO for a trickle irrigation system from the following figure given by FAO 56. FAO also suggested adjustment for partial wetting by irrigation, in which,fw, may be only 0.4. Value for Kc iniobtained using equation

formula1a

Infiltration depth calculated using equation

formula2

The crop coefficient of cotton crop as per FAO is 0.35 (using equation 4), 1.15-1.20 and 0.70-0.50 for Kcini, Kc midand Kcend, respectively from Table 12 of FAO 56 for drip irrigated cotton crop without mulch (control), The above values were corrected for non-standard conditions using FAO 56 procedure.

formula3,4

Crop coefficient for plastic mulched cotton as per FAO 56

As 50-80% reduction in soil evaporation, the Kcvalues decrease by an average of 10-30%. The value for Kc iniunder mulch is often as low as 0.10 suggested by FAO 56. So the crop coefficient of cotton crop under mulching were reduced by 15% for Kc midand Kcend. Corrections for local conditions were followed as per equation 3 and 4.

Actual Evapotranspiration of Cotton

Actual evapotranspiration ETa(ETc) was calculated using soil moisture sensors with data loggers installed at different depth in different treatment for getting soil moisture periodically. It was calculated using following equation.

formula5

Where, ETa= Actual Evapotranspiration (mm), M1= Moisture content after irrigation (m3m-3), M2= Moisture content before irrigation (m3m-3), Zr = Rooting depth (m), BD = Bulk density (g/cc).

Irrigation was given based on the equation (1) considering the application efficiency of drip irrigation 90% at 0.8 IW/ETcand 1.0 IW/ETc.The rooting depth of Bt. Cotton was calculated using model developed by Fereres.4

The reference evapotranspiration (ET0) was estimated using Penman Monteith (PM FAO-56) equation.

formula6


Crop coefficient based on moisture sensor observations

The actual cotton crop evapotranspiration (ETa) estimated using sensors under different treatments (equation 5) and reference evapotranspiration (ETo) estimated by FAO Penmen Monteith (equation 7), the sensor based Kcvalues were developed as

formula7

The sensor based Kccurve was compared with Kccurves developed as per FAO 56 for no mulch and with mulch conditions for different irrigation regimes (1.0 IW/ETcand 0.8 IW/ETc).

Results and Discussion

Kc inifor drip irrigated cotton without mulch for 2013-14 and 2014-15 was 0.35 as per equation 1. FAO 56 suggested Kc midand Kcendvalues for drip irrigated cotton crop without mulch (control) as 1.20 and 0.50, respectively. The corrected Kc midand Kcendfor local conditions for 2013-14 and 2014-15 were 1.22 and 0.48 and 1.23 and 0.48 as per equation 3 and 4 respectively. FAO 56 suggested Kcini, Kc midand Kcend值下的棉花作物生物可降解塑料mulch was 0.1, 1.063 and 0.45, respectively. These values were corrected for local conditions as per the procedure suggested by FAO 56 using equation 3 and 4. The corrected values of Kcini, Kc midand Kcendwere 0.1, 1.036 and 0.425 for 2014-15, respectively. Temporal variation of ETa/ETodepicts the seasonal trend of sensor based Kc, whereas the spikes are due to high rates of evapotranspiration. Sensor based Kccurves were compared with the adjusted FAO Kccurves for different mulches and irrigation regimes. Adjusted FAO Kcremain same for a particular mulch at all irrigation regimes. Adjusted FAO Kccurves and sensor based Kccurves at different irrigation regimes for biodegradable plastic mulch and control are shown in Figure 2 and 3.

Figure 1


Figure 1
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Figure 2


Figure 2
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Figure 3


Figure 3
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The comparison of Kccurves for biodegradable plastic mulch and control as per FAO Kcand sensor based Kcat I2and I1differed considerably during both years. Sensor based Kc ini,Kc-dev,Kc-midand Kc-endwere lower by 11.58%, 9.13%, 30.04% and 11.58% and 8.42%, 5.63%, 12.99% and 0.25% than FAO adjusted values for I2and I1,respectively for biodegradable plastic mulch. Whereas, it were lower by 24.51%, 21.10%, 29.27% and 16.20% and 5.32%, 8.98%, 13.21% and -1.47% than FAO adjusted for I2and I1,respectively for control. Adjusted FAO Kcoverestimated ETcat all growth stages during two consecutive years. A considerable deviation in pooled adjusted FAO and sensor based Kcfor biodegradable plastic mulch over control is observed in Table 1 and Figure 4 and 5. It was lower by 72.26%, 29.49%, 14.23% and 9.50% and 66.54%, 16.11%, 12.21% and 2.94% than sensor based Kcof no mulch Kc-ini, Kc-dev, Kc-midand Kc-end,respectively at I1and I2. Farahaniet al.(2008) also reported that during the mid-season stage, the adjusted FAO Kcwas 24% higher than the locally developed Kc.

Irrigation water demand was also estimated using Pan ET method using adjusted FAO Kcfor respective treatments and compared with water requirement estimated using sensor based ETavalues depicted in Table 2. It indicated that cumulative irrigation water estimated by Pan ETcapproach was higher of 16.06% & 13.28% than sensor based irrigation at I1and I2respectively.

Figure 4


Figure 4
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Figure 5


Figure 5
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Table 1: Adjusted FAO Kcand average sensor based Kcfor various treatments

Cotton crop stage

Biodegradable plastic mulch

No mulch

Adj. FAO

Kc

Sensor based Kc

Adj. FAO

Kc

Sensor based Kc

I1

I2

I1

I2

Initial stage (20-45 days)

0.10

0.091

0.088

0.35

0.319

0.264

Development stage

(45-85days)

0.57

0.54

0.52

0.79

0.77

0.62

Mid stage (85-130 days)

1.04

0.91

0.73

1.22

1.06

0.86

End stage (130-180 days)

0.425

0.449

0.40

0.49

0.496

0.41



Table 2: Irrigation water requirement estimated by different approaches

Irrigation regimes

Irrigation water (mm)

Biodegradable plastic mulch

Sensor based ETa

Pan ETc

I1

280.31

333.96

I2

231.67

267.17

Control

I1

320.45

412.09

I2

257.11

329.67


Conclusions

Crop coefficient curves for biodegradable plastic mulched cotton was developed for two irrigation regimes. Two sets of Kccurves were developed, sensor based Kccurves as the ratio of measured ETato EToand the generalized Kcvalues published by FAO that were adjusted for local climate for the two years. Sensor based Kccurves not only differed among the two years, but also from the adjusted FAO Kcvalues. Biodegradable plastic mulch reduced Kc-ini, Kc-dev, Kc-midand Kc-endvalues by 72.26%, 29.49%, 14.23% and 9.50% and 66.54%, 16.11%, 12.21% and 2.94% over control at 1.0 IW/ETcand 0.8 IW/ETcrespectively. Overestimation of seasonal ETcusing adjusted FAO Kcvalues, cautioning against their blind application without some verification.

References

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  2. Doorenbos, J. and Pruitt, W.O. Guidelines for predicting crop water requirements. FAO-ONU, Rome,Irrigation and Drainage Paper24 (rev.) (1977).
  3. Farahani, J., Oweis, T. Y. and Izzi, G. Crop coefficient for drip-irrigated cotton in a Mediterranean environment.Irrigation science. 26 (5):375-383 (2008).
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  4. Fereres, E.; Goldfien, R. E.; Pruitt, W. O.; Henderson, D. W. and Hagan, R. M. The irrigation management program: A new approach to computer assisted irrigation scheduling.of irrigation scheduling for water and energy conservationin the 80sASAE, St. Joseph, Michigan.:202-207 (1981).
  5. Hunsaker, J., Pinter, P. J., Barnes, E. M. and Kimball, B. A. Estimating cotton evapotranspiration crop coefficients with a multi spectral vegetation index.Irrig. Sci.22(2): 95–104 (2003).
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  6. Jensen, M. E., Burman, R. D. and Allen, R.G. Evapotranspiration and irrigation water requirements.ASCE Manual No70 (1990).
  7. Wright, L. Recent developments in determining crop coefficient values. Proc. 1979Irrig. and Drain Div. Spec Conf. ASCE. New York, N.Y.: ASCE.:161–162 (1979).
  8. Wright, L. Crop coefficient for estimates of daily crop evapotranspiration.In:Proc. ASAE Irrig. Scheduling Conf. St. Joseph, MI: ASAE.:18–26 (1981).
  9. Wright, J. L. New evapotranspiration crop coefficients.J. Irrig. Drain. Div. ASCE.108(1):57–74 (1982).