Evapotranspiration and Crop Coefficient of Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L.) at Melkassa Farmland, Semi-Arid Area of Ethiopia

Abstract

Sorghum has an enormous role in the economy of sorghum-growing nations. Supplying a precise amount of water to a crop based on crop needs is the main agenda in implementing water-saving agriculture. Non-weighing type lysimeters were used to determine actual crop evapotranspiration and crop coefficient of sorghum at the experimental farm of Melkassa Agricultural Research Center situated in the semi-arid area of Ethiopia. Soil-water balance approaches were applied to obtain actual crop evapotranspiration, while the Penman-Monteith technique was used to determine reference evapotranspiration. Growth stages-wise crop coefficient was computed as a ratio of actual crop evapotranspiration to reference evapotranspiration. The total seasonal sorghum actual crop evapotranspiration during the 2017 and 2018 experimental years was 358.6 and 377.54 mm, respectively. The 2 years average sorghum actual crop evapotranspiration was 368.07 mm. The mean locally developed actual crop coefficient values of 0.55, 1.15, and 0.59 were observed for the initial, mid, and end-season, respectively. The FAO-adjusted crop coefficient values for mid and end-season were 1.01 and 0.52, respectively. The developed Kc values considerably differed from the FAO-adjusted Kc values. So, the determination of actual crop evapotranspiration and crop coefficient for crop growth at local climate conditions is vital for decision-making concerning water management in the area where irrigation is practiced.