6533b858fe1ef96bd12b6135

RESEARCH PRODUCT

Determining irrigation needs of sorghum from two-source energy balance and radiometric temperatures

subject

description

Abstract. Estimates of surface actual evapotranspiration (ET) can assist in predicting crop water requirements. An alternative to the traditional crop-coefficient methods are the energy balance models. The objective of this research was to show how surface temperature observations can be used, together with a two-source energy balance model, to determine crop water use throughout the different phenological stages of a crop grown. Radiometric temperatures were collected in a sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) field as part of an experimental campaign carried out in Barrax, Spain, during the 2010 summer growing season. Performance of the Simplified Two-Source Energy Balance (STSEB) model was evaluated by comparison of estimated ET with values measured on a weighing lysimeter. Errors of ±0.14 mm h−1 and ±1.0 mm d−1 were obtained at hourly and daily scales, respectively. Accumulated crop water use during the campaign resulted 500 mm versus the total 524 mm measured by the lysimeter. It is then shown that thermal radiometry can provide precise crop water necessities and is a promising tool for irrigation management.