IRRIGATION WATER REQUIREMENTS

FOR SENEGAL RIVER BASIN

By G. Leo Hargreaves, 1 A. M. ASCE, George H. Hargreaves, 2 F. ASCE,

and J. Paul Riley, 3 M. ASCE
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ABSTRACT: The Senegal River is a major natural resource in West Africa where
the principal economic resources are agricultural. A proposed irrigation project
will provide a significant increase in crop production and will exert a large in-
fluence on the economics of Senegal, Mauritania, and Mali. The magnitude of
benefits from the project will depend upon the allocation, scheduling and man-
aging of that portion of the water to be used for irrigating agricultural crops.
A procedure is recommended for estimating crop water requirements that only
requires the measurement of maximum and minimum temperatures. This pro-
cedure although calibrated for the Senegal River Basin using climatic data from
four representative locations appears to be generally applicable for other areas
without calibration. The importance of rainfall in supplying part of crop water
requirements is described. Mean, actual dependable and effective precipitation
values are compared for one location. Block farming or the planting of a single
crop to manageable areas should be made mandatory. Project managers must
assume responsibility for implementing procedures to insure good productivity
and reasonable efficiencies.

INTRODUCTION

The Senegal River basin is one of the most important combinations of

natural resources in West Africa. The construction of two d a m s for ir-
rigation a n d other uses is proposed. The Diama D a m is a low water
storage dam and salt-water barrier near the m o u t h of the Senegal River.
The Manantali Dam w o u l d be located about 1,200 k m u p s t r e a m from
the ocean on the Bafing River a n d intended for irrigation, domestic a n d
industrial water, hydropower, flood control a n d navigation.
The areas proposed for irrigation by year 2030 are: 154,165 h a in Sen-
egal, 97,199 in Mauritania, a n d 23,441 in Mali. The principal economic
resources of West African a n d the Sahel are agricultural. Large increases
in agricultural production are possible b o t h from the area to be irrigated
and from the dry farmed lands.
In order to produce anticipated benefits, an efficient strategy m u s t be
developed for allocating the water required by the crops and in the timely
and adequate scheduling of irrigation. A simple and reliable procedure
is proposed for calculating reference crop evapotranspiration, ETo, from
temperature measurements. ETo is used with well-established crop coef-
ficients to calculate potential crop evapotranspiration for each stage of
crop growth. In addition field monitoring is r e c o m m e n d e d in order to
^ i v . Engrg., Officer, 79th Engineer Bn. U.S. Army, APO New York 09360.
2
Dir. of Research, International Irrigation Center, Dept. of Agr. & Irrigation
Engrg., Utah State Univ., Logan, Utah 84322.
3
Prof., Dept. of Civ. and Environmental Engrg. and the Utah Water Research
Lab., Utah State Univ., Logan, Utah 84322.
Note.—Discussion open until February 1, 1986. To extend the closing date one
month, a written request must be filed with the ASCE Manager of Journals. The
manuscript for this paper was submitted for review and possible publication on
June 14, 1984. This paper is part of the Journal of Irrigation and Drainage En-
gineering, Vol. I l l , No. 3, September, 1985. ©ASCE, ISSN 0733-9437/85/0003-
0265/$01.00. Paper No. 19995.

265

J. Irrig. Drain Eng. 1985.111:265-275.

 compensate for differences in management practices and other factors.
The methods described are recommended for consideration for gen-
eral use. The possible importance of deficit irrigation and agricultural
research are briefly described. Participation in a global agricultural tech-
nology transfer project is recommended.
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REFERENCE CROP EVAPOTRANSPIRATION, ETo

McVicker (10) evaluated 12 equations for estimating reference crop

evapotranspiration, ETo, and ranked them. A simple easy-to-use equa-
tion was ranked highest and was recommended for use with watershed
models. Hargreaves (5) also compared and evaluated various equations
for estimating ETo and concurred in McVicker's selection. The equation
is written as follows:
ETo = 0.0075 XRSXTF , (1)
in which ETo = reference crop evapotranspiration in the same units as
RS with Alta fescue grass as the reference crop; RS = solar radiation at
the surface in equivalent water evaporation, usually mm of evaporation;
and TF = mean temperature in degrees Fahrenheit.
For temperature in degrees Celsius, TC, Eq. 1 can be written:
ETo = 0.0135 RS x {TC + 17.8) (2)
Eqs. 1 and 2 produce good results when Kentucky bluegrass or pe-
rennial ryegrass is used as the reference. The warm season grasses fre-
quently produce lower values of reference ET as indicated by Borelli, et
al. (1). This is not always true as the relative ET rates of cool season and
warm season grasses may change with temperature.
The ET of various alfalfa varieties is usually somewhat higher than
that of the cool season grasses. However, care must be exercised in com-
paring the ET from similar varieties as water use characteristics vary de-
pending on adaptation to temperature.
Jensen (8) compared 18 methods for estimating ETo from climatic data.
Lysimeter ET from 10 locations are used to evaluate the procedures. At
7 sites, the grasses considered were cool season varieties. Jensen (8) gives
values of TC and RS for three months at each site. From these data, Eq.
2 reproduces the cool season grass ET as well as any of the equations
evaluated by Jensen. However, from these and other data it was ob-
served that Eqs. 1 and 2 overestimate cool season grass ET for coastal
locations and underestimate for highly advective conditions.
In a developing country such as Senegal, it is frequently difficult to
obtain measured RS values, and where data are available, the reliability
may be questionable. Various methods have been developed for esti-
mating RS from sunshine hours or from the daily temperature range.
Climatological data from four stations in the Senegal River Basin were
used by Hargreaves (5) to calibrate two equations for estimating RS. The
stations are: Richard-Toll, Guede, Kaedi and Same (see Fig. 1). The cli-
mate at these locations is very similar and for that reason the data from
all four locations are used. The calibrated equations are:
RS = 0.070 x RA x S030 (3)
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J. Irrig. Drain Eng. 1985.111:265-275.

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FIG. 1.—Map Showing Location of Senegal River Basin and Isohyetal Lines of
Average Annual Precipitation (mm)

and RS = 0.16 x M x TD050 . f (4)

in which RA = extraterrestrial radiation in the same units (usually mm)
as RS; S = the percentage of possible sunshine (measured sunshine hours
times 100 divided by the number of possible sunshine hours); and TD
= mean maximum minus mean minimum temperature in °C.
The relative errors were approximately ±10% and ±15% for Eqs. 3 and
4, respectively, when measured RS was compared with those values es-
timated at the four locations. A significant portion of these apparent er-
rors may be from lack of good standardization of the climatological data.
Information is not available indicating whether the sites are in irrigated
or dry land areas. The data analyses seem to indicate that all data are
from dry land sites.
Eqs. 2 and 4 can be combined resulting in the following equation:
ETo = 0.0022 xRAx(TC + 17.8) x TD0-50 (5)
An attempt was made to determine the degree of local calibration re-
quired for Eqs. 4 and 5. Values of RS, S and TD were taken from Lof,
Duffie and Smith (9) Ministerio da Agricultura, Escritorio de Meterologia
(11) and Her Majesty's Stationery Office (7). The coefficient in Eq. 4 in-
creases for coastal areas and decreases for high elevation locations, par-
ticularly in mountain valleys or where air mass movements down slope
267

J. Irrig. Drain Eng. 1985.111:265-275.

 increases the daily temperature range. However, for most interior lo-
cations, the value was found to be remarkably uniform indicating av-
erage values of the coefficient in Eq. 5 as follows:

Place or Number of Average

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Location Stations Coefficient

All Africa 82 0.0022

Brazil 62 0.0022
Davis, California 0.0023

The value for Davis, California is from 8 yr of Et and temperature mea-

surements with an Alta fescue grass cover.
As previously mentioned, Eq. 2 overestimates ETo for coastal locations
and underestimates ETo for highly advective locations. The increase in
the coefficient in Eq. 4 for coastal areas and the decrease for highly ad-
vective areas approximately compensates for these differences. This in-
dicates that it may be possible to use Eq. 5 worldwide without calibra-
tion with a coefficient of 0.0022 or 0.0023. This hypothesis is proposed
for further evaluation.

POTENTIAL CROP EVAPOTRANSPIRATION

Potential crop evapotranspiration ET(trop) is calculated by use of the

following equation:
ET(crop) = EToxKC (6)
in which KC = a crop coefficient appropriate for the values of ETo with
cool season grass as reference as defined earlier. Values of KC given by
Doorenbos and Pruitt (3) and Doorenbos and Kassam (2) are recom-
mended for use with Eq. 6.
In calculating the irrigation requirements, Hargreaves (5) selected a
60% irrigation efficiency and made allowance for estimated effective pre-
cipitation (see Ref. 12 and Table 1).

EFFECTIVE PRECIPITATION

Crop water needs in the Senegal River Basin can be partially met from
rainfall. When determining net irrigation requirements, the amount of
rain which enters the soil and becomes available for crop water use must
be considered. The precipitation used by the plants depends upon rain-
fall intensity, soil conditions and management practices. The runoff from
given soil and rainfall conditions may vary with management and land
use from zero to most of the precipitation. These variations make the
empirical estimation of effective precipitation very imprecise.
For purposes of calculating water requirements and agricultural ben-
efits, Hargreaves (5) selected the 50% probability level. This value was
used for determining the user fee. He also compared rainfall probabili-
ties using the gamma and the ranking distributions, and demonstrated
that the results are very similar, and that the gamma distribution smoothed
out the irregularities produced by the ranking procedure.
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 TABLE 1.—Mean, Actual, Effective and Dependable Precipitation (mm)
Month June July August September October
(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6)
Mean 17 53 91 87 26
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Actual (50% Prob.) 6 40 78 67 5

Effective USDA/ARS (12) 6 37 49 60 5
Dependable (75% Prob.) 1 19 47 33 0

Table 1 compares mean, actual (the 50% probability), effective [using

the USDA/ARS method (12)] and dependable (the 75% probability of
assured rainfall) for the June-October rainy season at Podor, Latitude
16° 36' N, Longitude 14° 54' W from a 29 yr record.

TOTAL IRRIGATION WATER REQUIREMENTS

The total irrigation requirements include:

1. Water required for potential crop evapotranspiration (ETo X KC).

2. Water to leach excess salinity from the soil and to prevent salt
buildup.
3. Consideration of the efficiency of project operation and the field
application efficiency.

Hargreaves assumed 60% efficiency for surface irrigation. An allow-

ance of 1,000 mm of water depth was provided for percolation, soaking
and filling for rice fields. Effective precipitation was calculated using the
USDA/ARS method (12) based upon rainfall with a 50% probability of
occurrence or exceedence (actual rainfall).
Due to the depth to the groundwater and the irrigation efficiency of
60%, it was assumed that the irrigation water applied would provide the
necessary leaching. Groundwater contribution in meeting crop water re-
quirements was not anticipated.
The crop water requirements in millimeters per month for the prin-
cipal crops projected in the proposed cropping pattern are given in
Table 2.

YIELD RESPONSE TO WATER

Doorenbos and Kassam (2) have provided a useful manual indicating

the relationships between a deficit in meeting potential crop ET and the
corresponding yield reduction. Some crops, including maize, are much
more sensitive to water stress than others. Most crops are more respon-
sive to moisture deficits at particular growth stages. The more critical
periods are those of flowering, fruit setting and grain formation. Al-
though there are very significant variations, the average yield reduction
is shown to be approximately proportional to the crop ET reduction.
In the Senegal River Basin and in West Africa in general, water is
limited and land is abundant. During three months [July-September (see
Table 1)] rainfall makes a significant contribution to the crop water sup-
ply. In developing countries, there is probably significantly more yield
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J. Irrig. Drain Eng. 1985.111:265-275.

 TABLE 2.—Crop Water
Rice Tomato Wheat Niebe
Variables Wet Dry Wet Dry Wet Dry Wet Dry
(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) 0)
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Monthly ET0
Jan. 129 129 129 129
Feb. 151 151 151 151
Mar. 179 179 179 179
Apr. 196 196 196
May 203
June
July 186
Aug. 171
Sept. 173
Oct. 167 'i
Nov. 132
Dec. 129 129
Seasonal ET„ 829 858 655 588 784
Seasonal Kc 1.20 1.20 0.90 0.90 0.90
FT 995 1,030 590 529 706
^ * crop
P," 207 0 0 0 0
I l,788 a 2,030" 590 529 706
Efficiency
60% N/A N/A 98*3 882 1,176
75% N/A N/A 786 706 941
"Includes 1,000 mm of water for soaking, filling, and percolation losses.
b
Based on rainfall with a 50% probability of occurrence or exceedence.

reduction from excessive irrigation, or excessive water due to both rain

and irrigation, than is due to inadequate irrigation amounts. For this
reason, it seems desirable that a policy of promoting deficit irrigation be
considered.

DEFICIT IRRIGATION

Hargreaves and Samani (6) developed a model for evaluating the eco-
nomic benefits possible from deficit irrigation. The model requires an
equation relating crop yield to total water applied or available to the
crop, water costs, costs of applying water, water requirements for full
crop production, other crop production costs (both fixed and variable)
and the crop price or value. Computer graphs were produced comparing
net benefits with relative yields and amount of water applied and total
benefits as both land and water were varied.
Hargreaves and Samani (6) concluded that the following factors make
deficit irrigation less desirable:

1. When water costs are low relative to other crop production costs.
2. When land preparation or irrigation methods or systems, or both,
facilitate high efficiency and uniformity of irrigation.
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J. Irrig. Drain Eng. 1985.111:265-275.

 Requirements (mm/month)
Sugar Cane Sorghum Maize Cotton Forage
Wet Dry Wet Dry Wet Dry Wet Dry Wet Dry
(10) (11) (12) (13) (14) (15) (16) (17) (18) (19)
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129 129 129 129

151 151 151 151
179 179 179 179
196 196 196
203 203
192 192 192 192
186 186 186 186 186
171 171 171 171 171
173 173 173 173 173
167 167 167 167
132 132
129 129 129
889 1,119 697 655 722 588 890 889 1,119
1.05 1.05 0.85 0.85 0.90 0.90 0.90 1.05 1.05
933 1,175 592 557 650 529 800 933 1,175
215 0 207 0 208 0 215 215 0
718 1,175 385 557 442 529 585 718 1,175

1,197 1,958 642 928 736 882 975 1,197 1,958

958 1,567 513 743 590 702 780 958 1,567

f,
3. When rainfall provides only a small percentage of total water re-
quirements.
4. When yields and crop values are high resulting from optimizing
other inputs and when crops command high prices in the market place.
5. When deficit irrigation will increase problems of soil salinity.
6. When the area of good land suitable for irrigation is limited and
the water supply is less limited.

A primary objective of the development of the Senegal River Basin is

to contribute to the effort for making the Sahel self-sufficient in food by
the end of the century. Senegal, Mauritania and Mali have limited water
supplies but large land areas that might benefit from irrigation. During
three months, actual precipitation is equivalent to 44% of ETo. This is
approximately the place on the yield curve described by Hargreaves (4)
where a unit of additional water makes the maximum contribution to
yield, and where there is a maximum potential for increasing agricultural
production by applying supplemental irrigation.
A careful and detailed analysis of the possible benefits from deficit
irrigation is beyond the scope of this study. However, there are suffi-
cient favorable factors to indicate the need for a thorough evaluation of
the possible economic benefits of deficit irrigation. The resultant strategy
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J. Irrig. Drain Eng. 1985.111:265-275.

 may be somewhat of a compromise as Senegal definitely has limited water
and a large area of suitable lands, while many farmers may have limited
land holdings and will not wish to have production per unit area limited
by a tightly controlled water supply.
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IRRIGATION SCHEDULING

Benefits from irrigation are maximum when crop yields are near op-
timum. There are numerous management considerations for the optim-
ization of crop production. However, three important considerations
should be given priority as follows:

1. The water available for meeting crop potential evapotranspiration

should be approximately adequate except for conditions under which
deficit irrigation is more profitable. ,
2. Fertility should correspond with the potential yield of the variety
of the crop grown.
3. The crop selected should be well adapted to the climate including
mean temperature, the temperature range, temperature extremes, ra-
diation and to soil, social and cultural conditions. High yielding varieties
should be used.

Yield and quality of the crop depend on the amount of water applied
and also on the method, timing and uniformity of application. Fre-
quency of required irrigations depends upon the evaporative demand
and upon soil and crop conditions.
Table 3 presents average conditions for the irrigation service area from
data collected at four stations. The stations are Richard-Toll, Guede, Kaedi
and Same. Mean temperature in °C, incoming solar radiation, extrater-
restrial radiation, mean temperature range, estimated ETo from Eq. 2,

TABLE 3.—Climatic Data, Actual and Effective Precipitation for Senegal River
Basin
Actual Effective
Mean RS RA TD ETo precip. precip.
Month TC (cal/cm2) (mm/day) (°C) (mm) (mm) (mm)
0) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8)
Jan. 25 ' 425 11.9 15 129 0 0
Feb. 28 505 13.2 17 151 0 0
Mar. 28 550 14.7 16 179 0 0
Apr. 31 585 15.6 16 196 0 0
May 31 580 16.0 15 203 0 0
June 32 560 15.9 14 192 8 8
July 29 550 15.9 14 186 54 50
Aug. 29 510 15.7 12 171 96 80
Sept. 30 520 15.0 14 173 80 70
Oct. 30 485 13.8 14 167 7 7
Nov. 28 420 12.3 13 132 0 0
Dec. 26 410 11.5 15 129 0 0
Annual 29 6,100 14.3 15 2,008 245 215

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J. Irrig. Drain Eng. 1985.111:265-275.

 actual precipitation and effective precipitation as estimated by Har-
greaves (5) are given. Eq. 5 is proposed for use with Table 3 for purposes
of scheduling irrigation. Where measured values of TC and TD do not
differ significantly from those given in Table 3, the values given for ETo
may be used without modification. Where measured values are signif-
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icantly different, Eq. 5 should be used. A detailed analysis of irrigation

scheduling is beyond the scope of this paper. However, scheduling can
be facilitated by using a simplified method for estimating ETo that re-
quires only the measurement of maximum and minimum temperatures.

IRRIGATION MANAGEMENT

Farm irrigation efficiencies on many major irrigation projects in de-

veloping countries are as low as 25-40%. Yields may be only half of
those possible from satisfactory water management combined with good
farming practices. An irrigation efficiency of 60% can be achieved with
surface irrigation if the lands are smoothed and properly prepared dur-
ing project development and sufficient attention is given to training the
farmers in irrigation management and soil moisture monitoring.
Low crop yields are associated with low irrigation efficiencies, result-
ing from leaching of fertility and lack of adequate soil aeration. Crops
vary in the degree of damage caused by waterlogging of the soil. How-
ever, maize is one of the more important crops projected for production.
Yields of maize are very much reduced by excessive irrigation or from
low irrigation efficiencies.
Adequate attention must be given to agricultural research and to co-
operation with ongoing research activities. The IBSNAT (International
Benchmark Sites for Agricultural Technology Transfer) Project is at-
tempting to generalize agricultural technology transfer. IBSNAT is spon-
sored by the Bureau of Science! and Technology in the Agency for In-
ternational Development. Participation in the project will require collection
and recording of daily records of precipitation, maximum and minimum
temperatures, and solar radiation.
Irrigation efficiencies of 70 or 80% are realistic for level furrow, level
basin and for well-managed sprinkler irrigation. Use of hand move pipe
sprinkler systems, hose move, or center pivot sprinkler systems would
essentially eliminate the need for land leveling or smoothing except for
the areas devoted to the 'production of rice.
Small ownerships of land can be grouped together and farmed as a
block of variable size. In one country, the block size is fixed at 90 acre
(36 ha). For lands devoted to general crops, consideration may be given
to the use of center pivot systems, each irrigating an area of 50 ha. The
50 ha block or circle should be planted to a single crop or to crops having
similar growth stages and water requirements. The project officials or
organization contracted to provide these services should operate the center
pivot systems and supply the crop water requirements at specified ef-
ficiencies and uniformities.
Block farming could be made mandatory. In the Sahel, with areas of
large excesses of land and limited water supplies, low efficiencies and
low yields should not be permitted. Availability of water may increase
land values to ten or more times the value of dry land. Farmers ac-
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J. Irrig. Drain Eng. 1985.111:265-275.

 cepting this benefit should also be compelled to accept a system that
makes efficient operation and management possible.
The cost of irrigation facilities is usually high. The required investment
for promoting efficient management is usually much less, yet this later
investment often has the potential for doubling, tripling or even quad-
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rupling crop yields.

PRACTICAL APPLICATION

The methods presented for estimating ETo are simple and reliable. Eq.
5, although calibrated for the Senegal River Basin, appears suitable for
worldwide use without further calibration. The ETo values obtained from
the method presented are recommended for use with the crop coeffi-
cients given by Doorenbos and Pruitt (3) and Doorenbos and Kassam
(2). Due to its simplicity and minimum requirements for data, Eq. 5,
requiring only temperature measurements, is recommended for other
areas and for general usage in irrigation scheduling.
Management procedures are recommended for consideration to assist
in increasing crop production in this region of food shortage.

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

The Hargreaves method (4) was usedfto estimate ETo for the irrigation
project areas of the Senegal River Basin. The use of crop coefficients with
ETo for estimating crop water requirements is described.
Comparisons are made of actual precipitation, effective rainfall and
dependable precipitation. Total irrigation requirements are presented.
Irrigation requirements are estimated using an assumed efficiency of 60%.
Higher efficiencies are possible by using block farming, level basins and
sprinkle irrigation.
A new equation combines previously published concepts and is rec-
ommended for general use in irrigation scheduling. This equation only
requires the measurement and recording of maximum and minimum daily
temperature.
Consideration is recommended for the practice of planned deficit ir-
rigation and for investing in the improvement of irrigation management
so as to obtain crop yields that are near optimum for the prevailing con-
ditions.
The importance of agricultural research and for cooperation with ex-
isting agricultural research activities is emphasized.

APPENDIX I.—REFERENCES

1. Borelli, J., Pochop, L. O., Kneebone, W. R., Pepper, I. L., Danielson, R. E.,
Hart, W. E., and Younger, V. B., "Blaney-Criddle Coefficients for Western
Turf Grasses," Journal of the Irrigation and Drainage Division, ASCE, Vol. 107,
No. IR4, 1981, pp. 333-341.
2. Doorenbos, J., and Kassam, A. H., "Yield Responses to Water," Irrigation
and Drainage Paper 33, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Na-
tions, Rome, Italy, 1979.
3. Doorenbos, J., and Pruitt, W. O., "Crop Water Requirements," Irrigation and

274

J. Irrig. Drain Eng. 1985.111:265-275.

 Drainage Paper 24, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations,
Rome, Italy, 1977.
4. Hargreaves, G. H., "Moisture Availability and Crop Production," Transac-
tions of the American Society of Agricultural Engineers ASAE, Vol. 18, No. 5,
1975, pp. 980-984.
5. Hargreaves, G. L., "Water Requirements and Agricultural Benefits for the
Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by MARRIOTT LIB-UNIV OF UT on 11/27/14. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.

Senegal River Basin," thesis presented to Utah State University, at Logan,

Utah, in 1983, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of
Master of Science in Engineering.
6. Hargreaves, G. H., and Samani, Z. A., "Economic Considerations of Deficit
Irrigation," Journal of Irrigation and Drainage, ASCE, Vol. 110, No. 4, 1984,
pp. 343-358.
7. Her Majesty's Stationery Office, "Tables of Temperature, Relative Humidity
and Precipitation for the World," Part 4, Africa, Meteorological Office, Lon-
don, England, 1983.
8. Jensen, M. E., ed., "Consumptive Use of Water and Irrigation Require-
ments," Rep. Tech. Com. on Irrigation Water Requirements, ASCE, Irrig. and
Drainage Div., 1974.
9. Lof, G. O. G., Duffie, J. A., and Smith, C. O., "World Distribution of Solar
Radiation," Report No. 21, University of Wisconsin, Engineering Experiment
Station, 1966.
10. McVicker, R., "The Effects of Model Complexity on the Predictive Accuracy
of Soil Moisture Accounting Models," thesis presented to Utah State Uni-
versity, at Logan, Utah, in 1982, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for
the degree of Master of Science.
11. Ministerio da Agricultura, Escritorio de Meteorologia, "Normais Climatolo-
gicas," Vol. I-V, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 1969, 1970.
12. U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Agr. Research Service, "Consumptive Use and
Water Requirements," Tech. Bulletin 1275, U.S. Govt. Printing Office, Wash-
ington, D.C., 1962.

APPENDIX II.—NOTATION

The following symbols are usedUn this paper:

ET = evapotranspiration;
ETo = reference crop evapotranspiration equivalent to ET of Alta fes-
cue grass;
KC = crop coefficient to be multiplied by ETo to estimate crop p o -
tential ET;
RA = extraterrestrial radiation in equivalent m m of water evapora-
tion; !
RS = incident global radiation at the surface;
S = percentage of possible sunshine or hours of bright sunshine
times 100 divided by the n u m b e r of hours of possible sun-
shine;
TC = mean air temperature °C;
TD = mean maximum m i n u s m e a n m i n i m u m temperature °C; and
TF = mean air temperature °F.

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