Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Crop coefficient approaches based on fixed estimates of leaf resistance are not appropriate for estimating water use of citrus

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Irrigation Science Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The estimation of crop water use is critical for accurate irrigation scheduling and water licenses. However, the direct measurement of crop water use is too expensive and time-consuming to be performed under all possible conditions, which necessitates the use of water use models. The FAO-56 procedure is a simple, convenient and reproducible method, but as canopy cover and height vary greatly among different orchards, crop coefficients may not be readily transferrable from one orchard to another. Allen and Pereira (Irrig Sci 28:17–34, 2009) therefore incorporated a procedure into the FAO-56 approach which estimates crop coefficients based on a physical description of the vegetation and an adjustment for relative crop stomatal control over transpiration. Transpiration crop coefficients derived using this procedure and fixed values for citrus did not provide good estimates of water use in three citrus orchards. However, when mean monthly leaf resistance was taken into account, good agreement was found with measured values. A relationship between monthly reference evapotranspiration and mean leaf resistance provided a means of estimating mean leaf resistance which estimated transpiration crop coefficients with a reasonable degree of accuracy. The use of a dynamic estimate of mean leaf resistance therefore provided reasonable estimates of transpiration in citrus.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8
Fig. 9

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Allen RG (2008) Quality assessment of weather data and micrometeological flux—impacts on evapotranspiration calculation. J Agric Meteorol 64:191–204

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Allen RG, Pereira LS (2009) Estimating crop coefficients from fraction of ground cover and height. Irrig Sci 28:17–34

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Allen RG, Pereira LS, Raes D, Smith M (1998) Crop evapotranspiration: guidelines for computing crop water requirements, Irrigation and Drainage Paper 56. United Nations FAO, Rome http://www.fao.org/docrep/X0490E/X0490E00.htm

  • Allen RG, Pereira LS, Howell TA, Jensen ME (2011a) Evapotranspiration information reporting: I. Factors governing measurement accuracy. Agric Water Manag 98:899–920

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Allen RG, Pereira LS, Howell TA, Jensen ME (2011b) Evapotranspiration information reporting: II. Recommended documentation. Agric Water Manag 98:921–929

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Alves J, Folegatti MV, Parsons LR, Bandaranayake W, da Silva CR, da Silva TJA, Campeche LFSM (2007) Determination of the crop coefficient for grafted ‘Tahiti’ lime trees and soil evaporation coefficient of Rhodic Kandiudalf clay soil in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Irrig Sci 25:419–428

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Annandale J, Stockle C (1994) Fluctuation of crop evapotranspiration coefficients with weather: a sensitivity analysis. Irrig Sci 15:1–7

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Annandale J, Jovanovic N, Campbell G, Du Sautoy N, Benade N (2003) A two-dimensional water balance model for micro-irrigated hedgerow tree crops. Irrig Sci 22:157–170

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baldocchi D (1997) Flux footprints within and over forest canopies. Bound Layer Meteorol 85:273–292

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burgess SSO, Adams MA, Turner NC, Beverly CR, Ong CK, Khan AAH, Bleby TM (2001) An improved heat pulse method to measure low and reverse rates of sap flow in woody plants. Tree Physiol 21:589–598

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Castel J (1997) Evapotranspiration of a drip-irrigated Clementine citrus tree in a weighing lysimeter. Acta Hortic 449:91–98

    Google Scholar 

  • Castel JR, Bautista I, Ramos C, Cruz G (1987) Evapotranspiration and irrigation efficiency of mature orange orchards in Valencia (Spain). Irrig Drain Syst 1:205–217

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cohen Y (1991) Determination of orchard water requirement by a combined trunk sap flow and meteorological approach. Irrig Sci 12:93–98

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cohen S, Cohen Y (1983) Field studies of leaf conductance response to environmental variables in citrus. J Appl Ecol 20:561–570

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Conceição N, Ferreira M (2008) Combination of sap flow and eddy covariance techniques to obtain long term transpiration in a pear orchard. Acta Hortic 846:53–60

    Google Scholar 

  • de Jager J (1994) Accuracy of vegetation evaporation ratio formulae for estimating final wheat yield. Water SA 20:307–314

    Google Scholar 

  • Duan W, Fan PG, Wang LJ, Li WD, Yan ST, Li SH (2008) Photosynthetic response to low sink demand after fruit removal in relation to photoinhibition and photoprotection in peach trees. Tree Physiol 28:123–132

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Dzikiti S, Steppe K, Lemeur R, Milford J (2007) Whole-tree level water balance and its implications on stomatal oscillations in orange trees [Citrus sinensis(L.) Osbeck] under natural climatic conditions. J Exp Bot 58:1893–1901

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fernández J, Palomo M, Dıaz-Espejo A, Clothier B, Green S, Girón I, Moreno F (2001) Heat-pulse measurements of sap flow in olives for automating irrigation: tests, root flow and diagnostics of water stress. Agric Water Manag 51:99–123

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • García Petillo M, Castel J (2007) Water balance and crop coefficient estimation of a citrus orchard in Uruguay. Span J Agric Res 5:232–243

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Giorio P, Giorio G (2003) Sap flow of several olive trees estimated with the heat-pulse technique by continuous monitoring of a single gauge. Environ Exp Bot 49:9–20

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Green S, Clothier B (1988) Water use of kiwifruit vines and apple trees by the heat-pulse technique. J Exp Bot 39:115–123

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Green G, Moreshet S (1979) An analysis of seasonal water use characteristics of Valencia orange trees in the Sundays River Valley. Crop Prod 8:179–183

    Google Scholar 

  • Hoffman GJ, Oster JD, Alves WJ (1982) Evapotranspiration of mature orange trees under drip irrigation in an arid climate. Trans Am Soc Agric Eng 25:992–996

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Horst T, Weil J (1992) Footprint estimation for scalar flux measurements in the atmospheric surface layer. Bound Layer Meteorol 59:279–296

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hultine KR, Nagler PL, Morino K, Bush SE, Burtch KG, Dennison PE, Glenn EP, Ehleringer JR (2010) Sap flux-scaled transpiration by tamarisk (Tamarix spp.) before, during and after episodic defoliation by the saltcedar leaf beetle (Diorhabda carinulata). Agric For Meteorol 150:1467–1475

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Iglesias DJ, Lliso I, Tadeo FR, Talon M (2002) Regulation of photosynthesis through source: sink imbalance in citrus is mediated by carbohydrate content in leaves. Physiol Plant 116:563–572

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Jarvis P (1976) The interpretation of the variations in leaf water potential and stomatal conductance found in canopies in the field. Philos Trans R Soc Lond Ser B Biol Sci 273:593–610

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kaufmann M (1977) Citrus—a case study of environmental effects on plant water relations. Proc Int Soc Citric (Orlando) 1:52–57

    Google Scholar 

  • Köstner B, Schulze E, Kelliher F, Hollinger D, Byers J, Hunt J, McSeveny T, Meserth R, Weir P (1992) Transpiration and canopy conductance in a pristine broad-leaved forest of Nothofagus: an analysis of xylem sap flow and eddy correlation measurements. Oecologia 91:350–359

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kriedemann P, Barrs H (1981) Citrus orchards. In: Kozlowski TT (ed) Water deficits and plant growth. Academic Press, New York, pp 325–417

    Google Scholar 

  • Marin FR, Angelocci LR (2011) Irrigation requirements and transpiration coupling to the atmosphere of a citrus orchard in Southern Brazil. Agric Water Manag 98:1091–1096

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marshall D (1958) Measurement of sap flow in conifers by heat transport. Plant Physiol 33:385–396

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Naor A, Naschitz S, Peres M, Gal Y (2008) Responses of apple fruit size to tree water status and crop load. Tree Physiol 28:1255–1261

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Nebauer SG, Arenas C, Rodríguez-Gamir J, Bordón Y, Fortunato-Almeida A, Monerri C, Guardiola JL, Molina RV (2013) Crop load does not increase the photosynthetic rate in Citrus leaves under regular cropping conditions. A study throughout the year. Sci Hortic 160:358–365

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oguntunde PG, van de Giesen N, Savenije HHG (2007) Measurement and modelling of transpiration of a rain-fed citrus orchard under subhumid tropical conditions. Agric Water Manag 87:200–208

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pérez-Pérez J, Romero P, Navarro J, Botía P (2008) Response of sweet orange cv ‘Lane late’ to deficit irrigation in two rootstocks. I: water relations, leaf gas exchange and vegetative growth. Irrig Sci 26:415–425

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pernice F, Motisi A, Rossi F, Georgiadis T, Nardino M, Fontana G, Dimino G, Drago A (2008) Micrometeorological and sap flow measurement of water vapour exchanges in olive: scaling up from canopy to orchard. Acta Hortic 846:159–166

    Google Scholar 

  • Poblete-Echeverría C, Ortega-Farias S, Zuñiga M, Fuentes S (2012) Evaluation of compensated heat-pulse velocity method to determine vine transpiration using combined measurements of eddy covariance system and microlysimeters. Agric Water Manag 109:11–19

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rana G, Katerji N (2000) Measurement and estimation of actual evapotranspiration in the field under Mediterranean climate: a review. Eur J Agron 13:125–153

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rana G, Katerji N, de Lorenzi F (2005) Measurement and modelling of evapotranspiration of irrigated citrus orchard under Mediterranean conditions. Agric For Meteorol 128:199–209

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rodríguez-Gamir J, Intrigliolo DS, Primo-Millo E, Forner-Giner M (2010) Relationships between xylem anatomy, root hydraulic conductivity, leaf/root ratio and transpiration in citrus trees on different rootstocks. Physiol Plant 139:159–169

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rogers J, Allen L, Calvert D (1983) Evapotranspiration from a humid-region developing citrus groves with grass cover. Trans ASAE 26:1778–1783

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sinclair T, Allen L (1982) Carbon dioxide and water vapour exchange of leaves on field-grown citrus trees. J Exp Bot 33:1166–1175

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Smith DM, Allen SJ (1996) Measurement of sap flow in plant stems. J Exp Bot 47:1833–1844

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Snyder RL, O’Connell MG (2007) Crop coefficients for microsprinkler-irrigated, clean-cultivated, mature citrus in an arid climate. J Irrig Drain Eng 133:43–52

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sperry J, Hacke U, Oren R, Comstock J (2002) Water deficits and hydraulic limits to leaf water supply. Plant Cell Environ 25:251–263

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Syvertsen J, Graham J (1985) Hydraulic conductivity of roots, mineral nutrition, and leaf gas exchange of citrus rootstocks. J Am Soc Hortic Sci 119:865–869

    Google Scholar 

  • Syvertsen J, Goñi C, Otero A (2003) Fruit load and canopy shading affect leaf characteristics and net gas exchange of ‘Spring’ navel orange trees. Tree Physiol 23:899–906

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Testi L, Villalobos F, Orgaz F (2004) Evapotranspiration of a young irrigated olive orchard in southern Spain. Agric For Meteorol 121:1–18

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Testi L, Villalobos F, Orgaz F, Fereres E (2006) Water requirements of olive orchards: I simulation of daily evapotranspiration for scenario analysis. Irrig Sci 24:69–76

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • van Bavel C, Newman J, Hilgeman R (1967) Climate and estimated water use by an orange orchard. Agric Meteorol 4:27–37

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Villalobos FJ, Testi L, Moreno-Perez MF (2009) Evaporation and canopy conductance of citrus orchards. Agric Water Manag 96:565–573

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Villalobos FJ, Testi L, Orgaz F, García-Tejera O, Lopez-Bernal A, González-Dugo MV, Ballester-Lurbe C, Castel JR, Alarcón-Cabañero JJ, Nicolás-Nicolás E, Girona J, Marsal J, Fereres E (2013) Modelling canopy conductance and transpiration of fruit trees in Mediterranean areas: a simplified approach. Agric For Meteorol 171–172:93–103

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Water Research Commission (2008) Knowledge review 2007/2008—knowledge for growth and development. WRC, Pretoria

    Google Scholar 

  • Williams D, Cable W, Hultine K, Hoedjes J, Yepez E, Simonneaux V, Er-Raki S, Boulet G, De Bruin H, Chehbouni A (2004) Evapotranspiration components determined by stable isotope, sap flow and eddy covariance techniques. Agric For Meteorol 125:241–258

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Willmott CJ (1982) Some comments on the evaluation of model performance. Bull Am Meteorol Soc 63:1309–1313

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This is a solicited project, initiated, managed and funded by South Africa’s Water Research Commission (Project K5/1770, Water use of fruit tree orchards), with co-funding from the South African National Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. We are also grateful to Schoeman Boerdery for the use of their orchard, in particular J. Burger, H. Schoeman and B. du Toit and to Patrysberg Farm, in particular C. Junius and J. Toerien.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Plant Production and Soil Science, University of Pretoria, Private Bag X20, Hatfield, 0028, South Africa

    N. J. Taylor, W. Mahohoma, J. T. Vahrmeijer & J. G. Annandale

  2. Citrus Research International, P.O. Box 28, Nelspruit, 1200, South Africa

    J. T. Vahrmeijer

  3. CSIR – Natural Resources and the Environment, Hydroscience Research Group, P.O. Box 320, Stellenbosch, 7599, South Africa

    M. B. Gush

  4. Biological and Agricultural Engineering and Civil Engineering, University of Idaho, 3793 N3600 E, Kimberley, ID, 83341, USA

    R. G. Allen

Authors
  1. N. J. Taylor
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. W. Mahohoma
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. J. T. Vahrmeijer
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. M. B. Gush
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. R. G. Allen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. J. G. Annandale
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to N. J. Taylor.

Additional information

Communicated by J. Marsal.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Taylor, N.J., Mahohoma, W., Vahrmeijer, J.T. et al. Crop coefficient approaches based on fixed estimates of leaf resistance are not appropriate for estimating water use of citrus. Irrig Sci 33, 153–166 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00271-014-0455-z

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00271-014-0455-z

Keywords

Search

Navigation