Crop Coefficients: A Literature Review
Publication: Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering
Volume 142, Issue 3
Abstract
Recently presented climate change scenarios include increasing demand for water, due to both increase in temperature and variations in precipitation pattern. Since crop water requirements are related to climate and irrigation scheduling depends on crop evapotranspiration (ETc), it is crucial to have tools that allow the estimation of ETc in a reliable way. ETc is often calculated as the product of two factors, the reference evapotranspiration (ETo) and crop coefficient (Kc) values that convert ETo to ETc. This paper reviews Kc values, measured in different parts of the world and in different climates, with the aim to offer a practical tool for selecting the most appropriate Kc values for water balance irrigation scheduling, which result in more efficient irrigation. More than 100 scientific papers were studied and summarized in a report, accompanied by an extensive Kc database. The Kc report and database are available in the “Supplemental Data” section of this paper.
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References
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Published In
Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering
Volume 142 • Issue 3 • March 2016
Copyright
© 2015 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Apr 13, 2015
Accepted: Sep 21, 2015
Published online: Dec 23, 2015
Published in print: Mar 1, 2016
Discussion open until: May 23, 2016
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