Quantification of cotton water consumption by remote sensing

Abstract

Quantifying crop water consumption is essential for water resource management. The objective was to estimate the current evapotranspiration (ET_a) of the cotton crop (Gossypium hirsutum L.) in the rainfed system, as well as the components of the radiation and energy balance in the Cerrado biome conditions using orbital images and the SEBAL algorithm and validate the estimates of evapotranspiration (ET) using FAO guidelines for crop coefficient (K_c) of the cotton crop. Research was carried out in the State of Mato Grosso, Brazil, in areas with three cotton cultivars. Images of the Operational Land Imager and Thermal Infrared Sensor sensors were used and ET estimation was made based on the SEBAL algorithm. Mean ET_a in the cotton cycle was 3.5 mm dia⁻¹ and the K_c values ranged from 0.22 and 1.12, on average, in the smaller and larger leaf area, respectively.

Keywords:

• Crop coefficient
• evapotranspiration
• irrigation
• Gossypium hirsutum
• water management

Acknowledgments

This study was financed in part by the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior–Brazil (CAPES)–Finance Code 001. We thank the University of Mato Grosso for financial support and the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) for their granting of scholarships to students and the co-authors of this work.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

The research pertaining to these results received financial aid from the Federal University of Mato Grosso (UFMT) and National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq). Policy according to the agreement of subsidy of the Volunteer of Scientific Initiation (VIC).