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 EVAPOTRANSPIRATION
• 2.3.1 DEFINITIONS

• a) Evaporation: The process by which water is changed from

the liquid or solid state into the gaseous state through the
transfer of heat energy.

• b) Transpiration: The evaporation of water absorbed by the

crop which is used directly in the building of plant tissue in a
specified time. It does not include soil evaporation.

• c) Evapotranspiration, ET: It is the sum of the amount of

water transpired by plants during the growth process and that
amount that is evaporated from soil and vegetation in the
domain occupied by the growing crop. ET is normally
expressed in mm/day.
Evapotranspiration (ET)

Kc

Ks
 FACTORS THAT AFFECT
EVAPOTRANSPIRATION
Weather parameters, Crop Characteristics,
Management and Environmental aspects are
factors affecting ET

• (a) Weather Parameters:

• The principal weather conditions affecting
evapotranspiration are:
• Radiation,
• Air temperature,
• Humidity and
• Wind speed.
 CROP FACTORS THAT
AFFECT ET
• Crop Type • Crop Roughness

• Variety of Crop • Ground Cover

• Development Stage • Crop Rooting Depth

• Crop Height
 Management and Environmental
Factors
Factors such as
• soil salinity,
• Poor land fertility,
• Limited application of fertilizers,
• Absence of control of diseases and
• Pests and poor soil management
may limit the crop development and reduce soil
evapotranspiration.
• Other factors that affect ET are ground cover, plant density and
soil water content. The effect of soil water content on ET is
conditioned primarily by the magnitude of the water deficit and
the type of soil. Too much water will result in waterlogging
which might damage the root and limit root water uptake by
inhibiting respiration.
 EVAPOTRANSPIRATION
CONCEPTS
• (a) Reference Crop Evapotranspiration (ETo):
Used by FAO.
• This is ET rate from a reference plant e.g. grass or alfalfa, not
short of water and is denoted as ETo. The ET of other crops
can be related to the ET of the reference plant.
• ETo is a climatic parameter as it is only affected by climatic
factors.
• The FAO Penman-Monteith method is recommended as the
sole method for determining ETo. The method has been
selected because it closely approximates grass ETo at the
location evaluated, is physically based, and explicitly
incorporates both physiological and aerodynamic parameters.
 EVAPOTRANSPIRATION

Potential Evaporation and Evapotranspiration

▪ Potential evapotranspiration (PET) is a representation

of the environmental demand for evapotranspiration

▪ PE = “evaporation from a surface when all surface-

atmosphere interfaces are wet so there is no
restriction on the rate of E”

▪ PET = “amount of water transpired in unit time by a

short green crop, completely shading the ground, of
uniform height and never short of water”

▪ Not possible to separate E from T in field

 CROP ET UNDER STANDARD
CONDITIONS (ETc)
• This refers to crop ET under standard conditions, i.e.
ET from disease-free, well-fertilized crops, grown in
large fields, under optimum soil water conditions.

• ETc can be derived from ETo using the equation:

ETc = Kc . ETo where Kc is crop coefficient

• Crop Evapotranspiration under non- standard

conditions as mentioned above is called ETc
(adjusted). This refers to growth of crops under non-
optimal conditions.
 DETERMINATION OF
EVAPOTRANSPIRATION
• Evapotranspiration is not easy to measure.
Specific devices and accurate measurements
of various physical parameters or the soil
water balance in lysimeters are required to
determine ET. The methods are expensive,
demanding and used for research purposes.
They remain important for evaluating ET
estimates obtained by more indirect methods.
 Water Balance Method
• The Water Balance or Budget Method is a
measurement of continuity of flow of water.
• This method consists of drawing up a balance sheet
of all the water entering and leaving a particular
catchment or drainage basin.
• The water balance equation can be written as:
• ET = I + P – RO – DP + CR + SF + SW

• Where: I is Irrigation, P is rainfall, RO is surface

runoff, DP is deep percolation, CR is capillary rise,
SF and SW are change in sub-surface flow and
change in soil water content respectively
 Direct methods

Water Balance Method

Inflow = Outflow + Change in storage

E = W + Swin + Gwin - Swout - Gwout - V

 Lysimeters For Water Balance
Method
• Lysimeters are normally adopted in water balance studies.
• By isolating the crop root zone from its environment and
controlling the processes that are difficult to measure, the
different terms in the soil balance equation can be determined
with greater accuracy.
• Using Lysimeters, crop grows in isolated tanks filled with either
disturbed or undisturbed soil.
• In weighing lysimeters, water loss is directly measured by
change in mass while
• In non-weighing ones, the ET for a given time is determined by
deducting the drainage water collected at the bottom of the
lysimeters, from the total water input.
Non-Weighing Lysimeter
 EVAPOTRANSPIRATION

▪ Lysimeters
 ET Computed from
Meteorological Data:
• ET is commonly computed from weather data. A large number
of empirical equations have been developed for assessing crop
or reference crop evapotranspiration from weather data. Some
of these methods include the Blaney-Criddle, Penman,
Thornthwaite, Radiation, Hargreaves, Turc and many others.
Most of these methods have been found to only work in specific
locations.
• Following an Expert Consultation by Food and Agriculture
Organization in May 1990, the FAO Penman-Monteith method
is now recommended as the standard method for the definition
and computation of the reference evapotranspiration. The FAO
Penman-Monteith equation is described in the Notes.
 ET Estimated from Evaporation
Pans:
• Evaporation from an open water surface provides an
index of integrated effect of radiation, air
temperature, air humidity and wind on
evapotranspiration. However, differences in the
water and cropped surface produce significant
differences in the water loss from an open surface
and the crop. The pan is used to estimate reference
ETo by observing the evaporation loss from a water
surface (Epan) and applying empirical coefficients
(Kpan)to relate pan evaporation to Eto thus:

• ETo = Kp x Epan
 EVAPORATION

Pan-Evaporation Approach

E = W – (V2 – V1)
Types of Evaporation Pans
 EVAPOTRANSPIRATION

The Blaney-Criddle formula:

ET = p (0.46 T mean +8)

where

ET = Reference crop evapotranspiration (mm/day)

as an average for a period of 1 month
T mean = mean daily temperature (°C)
p = mean daily percentage of annual daytime hours
 EVAPOTRANSPIRATION
MEAN DAILY PERCENTAGE (p) OF ANNUAL DAYTIME HOURS
FOR DIFFERENT LATITUDES
Latitude North Jan Feb Mar Apr May June July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec
South July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May June
60° .15 .20 .26 .32 .38 .41 .40 .34 .28 .22 .17 .13

55 .17 .21 .26 .32 .36 .39 .38 .33 .28 .23 .18 .16

50 .19 .23 .27 .31 .34 .36 .35 .32 .28 .24 .20 .18

45 .20 .23 .27 .30 .34 .35 .34 .32 .28 .24 .21 .20

40 .22 .24 .27 .30 .32 .34 .33 .31 .28 .25 .22 .21

35 .23 .25 .27 .29 .31 .32 .32 .30 .28 .25 .23 .22

30 .24 .25 .27 .29 .31 .32 .31 .30 .28 .26 .24 .23
 EVAPOTRANSPIRATION

To calculate ET:

ET = p (0.46 T mean + 8)

For example, when p = 0.29 and T mean = 21.5°C

the ET is calculated as follows:

ET = 0.29 (0.46 × 21.5 + 8) = 0.29 (9.89 + 8) = 0.29 ×

17.89 = 5.2 mm/day
 EVAPOTRANSPIRATION
The influence of crop type:

The relationship between the reference grass crop

and the crop actually grown is given by the crop
factor, Kc, as shown in the following formula:

ET × Kc = ET crop

with ET crop = crop evapotranspiration or crop

water need (mm/day), Kc = crop factor, and
ET = reference evapotranspiration (mm/day)
• the type of crop
• the growth stage of the crop
• the climate
 EVAPOTRANSPIRATION
To determine the crop factor Kc, it is necessary, for
each crop, to know the total length of the growing
season and the lengths of the various growth
stages.

The determination of the Kc values for the various

growth stages of the crops involves several steps:

Step 1 - Determination of the total growing period of

each crop
Step 2 - Determination of the various growth stages of
each crop
Step 3 - Determination of the Kc values for each crop
for each of the growth stages
 EVAPOTRANSPIRATION
INDICATIVE VALUES OF THE TOTAL GROWING PERIOD
Crop Total growing period Crop Total growing period
(days) (days)
Alfalfa 100-365 Millet 105-140
Banana 300-365 Onion green 70-95
Barley/Oats/W 120-150 Onion dry 150-210
heat
Bean green 75-90 Peanut 130-140
Bean dry 95-110 Pea 90-100
Cabbage 120-140 Pepper 120-210
Carrot 100-150 Potato 105-145
Citrus 240-365 Radish 35-45
Cotton 180-195 Rice 90-150
Cucumber 105-130 Sorghum 120-130
Eggplant 130-140 Soybean 135-150
Flax 150-220 Spinach 60-100
Grain/small 150-165 Squash 95-120
Lentil 150-170 Sugarbeet 160-230
Lettuce 75-140 Sugarcane 270-365
Maize sweet 80-110 Sunflower 125-130
Maize grain 125-180 Tobacco 130-160
 EVAPOTRANSPIRATION
The total growing period is divided into 4 growth stages:

1. The initial stage: this is the period from sowing or

transplanting until the crop covers about 10% of the
ground.
2. The crop development stage: this period starts at the
end of the initial stage and lasts until the full ground cover
has been reached (ground cover 70-80%); it does not
necessarily mean that the crop is at its maximum height.
3. The mid - season stage: this period starts at the end of
the crop development stage and lasts until maturity; it
includes flowering and grain-setting.
4. The late season stage: this period starts at the end of the
mid season stage and lasts until the last day of the harvest;
it includes ripening.
 EVAPOTRANSPIRATION
APPROXIMATE DURATION OF GROWTH STAGES FOR
VARIOUS FIELD CROPS
Tot. Initial Crop Development Mid season Late season
stage stage stage stage

Barley/Oats/Wh 120 15 25 50 30
eat
150 15 30 65 40
Bean/green 75 15 25 25 10
90 20 30 30 10
Bean/dry 95 15 25 35 20
110 20 30 40 20
Cabbage 120 20 25 60 15
140 25 30 65 20
Carrot 100 20 30 30 20
150 25 35 70 20
Cotton/Flax 180 30 50 55 45
195 30 50 65 50
Cucumber 105 20 30 40 15
130 25 35 50 20
 EVAPOTRANSPIRATION
Per crop, four crop factors (Kc) have to be determined: one
crop factor for each of the four growth stages.
Crop Initial Crop dev. Mid-season Late season
stage stage stage stage
Barley/Oats/W 0.35 0.75 1.15 0.45
heat
Bean, green 0.35 0.70 1.10 0.90
Bean, dry 0.35 0.70 1.10 0.30
Cabbage/Carro 0.45 0.75 1.05 0.90
t
Cotton/Flax 0.45 0.75 1.15 0.75
Cucumber/Squ 0.45 0.70 0.90 0.75
ash
Eggplant/Tomat 0.45 0.75 1.15 0.80
o
Grain/small 0.35 0.75 1.10 0.65
Lentil/Pulses 0.45 0.75 1.10 0.50
Lettuce/Spinac 0.45 0.60 1.00 0.90
h
Maize, sweet 0.40 0.80 1.15 1.00
Maize, grain 0.40 0.80 1.15 0.70
 EVAPOTRANSPIRATION
QUESTION:

Determine the crop water need of tomatoes

GIVEN:

Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May June July

ET (mm/d) 4.0 5.0 5.8 6.3 6.8 7.1 6.5

Duration of growing period (from sowing): 150 days

Planting date: 1 February (direct sowing)
 EVAPOTRANSPIRATION
Step 1: Estimate the duration of the various growth stages.
Crop Total growing (days) Initial stage Crop dev. Stage Mid-season stage Late season stage
Tom. 150 35 40 50 25

Step 2: Indicate the ET values and the duration of the

growth stages.

Note: When calculating the crop water needs, all

months are assumed to have 30 days.
Planting date 1 Feb
Initial stage, 35 days 1 Feb-5 Mar
Crop development stage, 40 days 6 Mar-15 Apr
Mid season stage, 50 days 16 Apr-5 Jun
Late season stage, 25 days 6 Jun-30 Jun
Last day of the harvest 30 Jun
 EVAPOTRANSPIRATION

Step 3: Estimate the Kc factor for each of the 4 growth stages.

Kc, initial stage = 0.45

Kc, crop development stage = 0.75
Kc, mid season stage = 1.15
Kc, late season stage = 0.8

It can be seen from the table above that the months and growth stages do not
correspond. As a consequence the ETo and the Kc values do not correspond.
Yet the ET crop (= ET × Kc) has to be determined on a monthly basis. It is thus
necessary to determine the Kc on a monthly basis, which is done as follows:
 EVAPOTRANSPIRATION

February: Kc Feb = 0.45

March: 5 days: Kc = 0.45
25 days: Kc = 0.75

NOTE: The Kc values are rounded to the nearest 0.05 or 0.00.

Thus Kc, March = 0.70

April: 15 days: Kc = 0.75

15 days: Kc = 1.15

Thus Kc, April =0.95

 EVAPOTRANSPIRATION

Step 4: Calculate, on a monthly basis, the crop water

need, using the formula:
ET crop = ET × Kc (mm/day)
February: ET crop = 5.0 × 0.45 = 2.3 mm/day
March: ET crop = 5.8 × 0.70 = 4.1 mm/day
April: ET crop = 6.3 × 0.95 = 6.0 mm/day
May: ET crop = 6.8 × 1.15 = 7.8 mm/day
June: ET crop = 7.1 × 0.85 = 6.0 mm/day
 EVAPOTRANSPIRATION

Step 5: Calculate the monthly and seasonal crop water needs.

Note: all months are assumed to have 30 days.

February ET crop = 30 × 2.3 = 69 mm/month

March ET crop = 30 × 4.1 = 123 mm/month
April ET crop = 30 × 6.0 = 180 mm/month
May ET crop = 30 × 7.8 = 234 mm/month
June ET crop = 30 × 6.0 = 180 mm/month

The crop water need for the whole growing season of

tomatoes is 786 mm.
 Potential Evapotranspiration (ETo)

where
ETo is the Penman-Monteith reference or potential evapotranspiration,
 is slope of the vapor pressure curve,
Rn is net radiation,
G is soil heat flux density,
 is psychrometric constant,
T is mean daily air temperature at 2-m height,
u2 is wind speed at 2-m height,
es is the saturated vapor pressure and
ea is the actual vapor pressure.
 NET IRRIGATION
REQUIREMENT (Nir)
• This is the moisture that must be supplied by irrigation to satisfy
evapotranspiration plus that needed for leaching and not
supplied by off-season storage, and the effects of precipitation
and groundwater storage.

• Nir = ET + Wl - Ws - Re

• Where: Nir is the net irrigation;

• ET is evapotranspiration,
• Wl is leaching requirement;
• Ws is off-season soil moisture carry-over.
• All parameters are in mm of water.
 GROSS IRRIGATION
REQUIREMENT (Gir)

• Gross Irrigation Requirement is equal to:

• Net Irrigation Requirement Divided by Irrigation

Efficiency

• Irrigation efficiency accounts for losses in storage and

distribution systems, losses in application systems as
well as operation and management losses.

• Irrigation Efficiency depends on the Method of Applying

Irrigation Water
 2.8 IRRIGATION TERMS
• 2.8.1. Depth of Irrigation: This is the
depth of the readily available moisture.
This is the net depth of water normally
needed to be applied to the crops
during each irrigation
 Example 1
• The Moisture Content at Field Capacity of a Clay Loam Soil is
28% by Weight While that at Permanent Wilting Point is 14% by
Weight. Root Zone Depth Is 1 m and the Bulk Density Is 1.2
g/cm3 . Calculate the Net and Gross Depth of Irrigation
Required If the Irrigation Efficiency Is 0.7.

• Solution: Field Capacity = 28%; Permanent wilting point =

14%
• i.e. Available moisture = 28 - 14 = 14% by weight i.e. Pm
• Bulk density (Db) = 1.2 g/cm3
• Root Zone depth (D) = 1 m = 1000 mm
• Equivalent depth of available water (d) = Pm . Db . D
• = 0.14 x 1.20 x 1000 mm = 168 mm
• This is the net depth of irrigation.
 Solution to Example 1 contd.
• Gross Water Application is equal to:
• Net Irrigation/Efficiency = 84/0.7 = 120 mm

Note: This is the actual water needed to be

pumped for irrigation.

It is equivalent to:
120 /1000 mm x 10,000 m2 =
1200 m 3 per hectare.
 2.8.2 Irrigation Interval (II):
• This is the time between successive
irrigations.
• Irrigation interval is equal to:
• Readily Available Moisture or Net Irrigation divided by
Evapotranspiration, ET
• The shortest irrigation interval is normally use in
design. The irrigation interval varies with ET.
• It is equivalent to Readily Available Water divided by the
Peak ET
 Example 2
• For the Last Example. the Peak ET is
7.5 mm/day, Determine the Shortest
Irrigation Interval.

• Solution: From Example 1, Readily

Available Moisture (RAM) = 84 mm
• i.e. Shortest irrigation interval = RAM/
Peak ET = 84/7.5 = 11 days.
 Irrigation Period (IP)
• This is the number of days allowed to
complete one irrigation cycle in a given
area.
 Irrigation Period Contd.

1 2 4 5 7 9 10
3 6 8

Assuming water is applied in a border in a day,

the total period of irrigation is then 11 days.
 Irrigation Interval and Period
• In irrigation scheduling, the irrigation period
should be less that the irrigation interval.
This is because if the period is not smaller,
before the latter parts of the area are to be
irrigated, the earlier irrigated areas will need
fresh irrigation.
• At peak evapotranspiration (used in design),
irrigation interval should be equal to irrigation
period. i.e. Generally IP < II
 2.8.4 Desired Irrigation Design
Capacity (Qc)

• This is the flow rate determined by the

water requirement, irrigation time,
irrigation period and the irrigation
application efficiency.
• It is the flow rate of flow of the water
supply source e.g. pumps from a
reservoir, or a borehole required to
irrigate a given area.
 Desired Irrigation Design Capacity
(Qc) Contd.

Qc = A. d
F. H . Ea

Where:
•Qc is the Desired Design Capacity;
•d is the Net Irrigation Depth = Readily Available Moisture;
•F is the number of Days to complete the Irrigation (Irrigation Period);
•H is the number of Hours the System is perated (hrs/day) and
• Ea is the Irrigation Efficiency
 Example 3
• A 12-hectare field is to be irrigated with a sprinkler
system. The root zone depth is 0.9 m and the field
capacity of the soil is 28% while the permanent
wilting point is 17% by weight. The soil bulk density
is 1.36 g/cm and the water application efficiency is
70%. The soil is to be irrigated when 50% of the
available water has depleted. The peak
evapotranspiration is 5.0 mm/day and the system is
to be run for 10 hours in a day.
• Determine: (i) The net irrigation depth
• (ii) Gross irrigation ie. the depth of water to be pumped
• (iii) Irrigation period
• (iv) Area to be irrigated per day and (v)
• the system capacity.
 Solution to Example 3
• Solution: Field Capacity = 28%; Permanent
Wilting Point = 17%
• ie. Available Moisture = 28 - 17 = 11% , which is
Pm
• Root zone depth = 0.9 m;
• Bulk density = 1.36 g/cm3
• Depth of Available Moisture, = Pm . Db. D
• = 0.11 x 1.36 x 900 = 135 mm
• Allowing for 50 % depletion of Available Moisture
before Irrigation, Depth of Readily Available Moisture
= 0.5 x 135 mm = 67.5 mm
 Solution of Example 3 Contd.
• i) Net irrigation depth = Depth of the Readily Available
Moisture = 67.5 mm

• ii) Gross Irrigation = Net irrigation

Application efficiency
• = 67.5/0.7 = 96.4 mm

• iii) Irrigation interval = Net irrigation or RAM

Peak ET
• = 67.5/5 = 13.5 days
• = 13.5 days = 13 days (more critical)

• In design, irrigation interval = irrigation period

• ie. irrigation period is 13 days
 Solution of Example 3 Contd.
• iv) Total area to be irrigated = 12 hectares
• Area to be irrigated per day = Total area /
irrigation period = 12 ha/ 13 days
• = 1 ha/day
•
• v) System Capacity, Qc = A. d m3 /s
• F. H. Ea
• Area, A = 12 ha = 12 x 10000 m2 = 120,000 m2
• Net irrigation depth, d = 67.5 mm = 0.0675 m
• Irrigation period , F = 13 days
• Number of hours of operation, H = 10 hrs/day
• Irrigation efficiency, Ea = 0.78
 IRRIGATION EFFICIENCIES
• These irrigation efficiencies are brought about
by the desire not to waste irrigation water, no
matter how cheap or abundant it is.

• The objective of irrigation efficiency concept

is to determine whether improvements can be
made in both the irrigation system and the
management of the operation programmes,
which will lead to an efficient irrigation water
use.
Overall system efficiency
Reservoir Storage Efficiency
 Water Conveyance Efficiency
Water delivered to the Farm (Wd )
Ec =
Water of water diverted from a stream, reservoir or well (Ws )

Farm

Wd
Water lost by evap
And seepage Ws
Stream
 Application Efficiency
Water in root zone after irrigation
Ea =
Total volume of water applied

Total vol. of water applied − (Vol. of Tailwater + Vol. of deep percolation)

Total water applied

Ea is inadequate in describing the overall quantity of water

since it does not indicate the actual uniformity of irrigation,
the amount of deep percolation or the magnitude of
under-irrigation. See diagrams in text.
 Solution to Example 4 Contd.
Water in root zone after irrigation
Ea =
Total volume of water applied

• = 96,000/144,000 = 66.7%.
 Example 5
• 45 m3 of water was pumped into a farm distribution
system. 38 m3 of water is delivered to a turn out (at
head ditch) which is 2 km from the well. Compute the
Conveyance Efficiency.

Solution:
Water delivered to the Farm (Wd )
Ec =
Water of water diverted from a stream, reservoir or well (Ws )

= 38/45 = 84%
 Water Storage Efficiency (Es)
Volume of water in the root zone after irrigation
Es =
Volume of water needed in root zone to avoid total water moisture depletion
 Water Use Efficiency

• Field water use efficiency

• Crop water use efficiency

• Y – yield
 IRRIGATION SCHEDULING

• This means Predicting when to Irrigate and

how much to Irrigate
• For efficient water use on the farm, the farmer
needs to be able to predict when his crops
need irrigation. This can be done by:
• Observing the plants;
• Keeping a Water Balance Sheet
• By Measuring the Soil Moisture Content or
• Computer Software