مرکز منطقه ای اطلاع رساني علوم و فناوري - USING CROP WATER STRESS INDEX FOR DETERMINATION OF SUGAR BEET IRRIGATION TIME

Abstract :

Irrigation water management is one of the most important steps of sustainable use of water resources. On the other hand, field application of water is a critical component which affects the achievement of irrigation water management. The fundamental principal is application of irrigation at correct time and enough amounts. Because of this, decision tools for irrigation have become very important. In this study, the use of crop water stress index (CWSI), which have very popular in recent years as a result of technological developments, was investigated for irrigation timing in sugar beet cultivation, which is very intensively irrigated crop in Turkey. For this purpose, field trials consisting of seven different irrigation treatments were applied under Ankara climatic and heavy soil conditions during the growing seasons of 2004 and 2005. Crop canopy temperature was monitored for each irrigation treatments separately. Air temperature and components of vapor pressure deficit (VPD) were measured, simultaneously. Lower and upper limits of basic graphic, which is necessary for CWSI calculation, were determined for sugar beet. CWSI values calculated using these lines determined the difference among irrigation applications. As a result, it was shown that CWSI could be used for management of sugar beet irrigation water effectively.