Seasonal Crop Coefficients and Relationships with Measures of Canopy Development for 'Tempranillo' Grapevines in South-Western Spain

摘要

The ability to estimate vineyard water use is important in semi-arid areas in order to improve crop water use through the establishment of scheduling irrigations adjusted to crop water needs. The development of a simple method to estimate the seasonal Kc for grapevine would be very useful from a practical standpoint. Water consumption of wine grapevines (Vitis vinifera 'Tempranillo') trained in vertical trellis was measured with a weighing lysimeter in the research station "Finca La Orden" (Badajoz, Spain) during the growing season 2008. Two grapevines were planted in a 2.67x2.25x1.50 m deep lysimeter in 2001. The row and vine spacing in the 1.8-ha vineyard were 2.50 and 1.20 m. The vines were drip irrigated with a 4 L h~(-1) emitters between grapevines. Crop coefficients (K_c) were calculated using water consumption (ETC) measured with the lysimeter and reference crop evapotranspiration (ET_0) obtained from a weather station located 100 m from the vineyard, and using the FAO-56 Penman-Monteith Method (Allen et al., 1998). Leaf area index (LAI) and light interception (LI) were determined in the lysimeter plant along the growing season and were used as indicators of vegetative development. Water use from budbreak until the end of September was 758.24 mm. The maximum Kc occurred during September. Seasonal ‰ followed a pattern similar to that of grapevine leaf area development. Vine water use and crop coefficient were linearly related to LAI (R~2=0.93) and to LI (R~2=0.91). The relationship determined between Kc and several measures of canopy development could be useful in scheduling irrigations of vineyard in the Vegas Bajas del Guadiana and could be useful for managers to estimate their own individual vineyard K_c.