Research Article
Vikas Kumar Singh, KN Tiwar
Abstract
Precise estimation of reference evapotranspiration (ETo) and crop evapotranspiration (ETc) on a daily basis is important to apply water through drip system for crops grown in the greenhouse. Crop coefficients and crop water requirement were determined for the Dutch roses cultivated in the greenhouse and open field for the sub-humid climatic conditions of Kharagpur, India. Reference evapotranspiration (ETo) was estimated using the method suggested by FAO-56. The crop ET was determined using soil water balance approach. The soil moisture data was collected using TDR moisture meter at three depths. The maximum daily values of Crop ET were 4.99 and 5.28 mm day-1 for greenhouse and open field conditions respectively. Maximum values of crop coefficient were found during conjunction period of mid-season and late season stage of the crop growth period. During different growth stages of rose, crop coefficient values were found in the range from 0.48 to 0.96 and 0.59 to 1.01 for greenhouse and open field conditions. The Dutch rose planted in 200 μ diffused poly film cladded greenhouse and given 100% water requirement through drip irrigation resulted in maximum number of flowers/m2 (212.3) annually. Total annual water requirement of rose plant was 999.51 mm and 1210.94 mm for greenhouse and open field condition respectively.