Estimation of the Evapotranspiration and Crop Coefficients of Bell Pepper Using a Removable Weighing Lysimeter: A Case Study in the Southeast of Spain

Water use efficiency is essential in semiarid regions of Spain, and it can be achieved through a precise knowledge of the real crop water requirements (CWR). The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) offers standardized crop coefficients to establish the CWR. However, these coefficients can change due to different conditions, such as climatic variations and cultivation practices. In this work, the evapotranspiration (ETClys) and crop coefficients (K-Clys) of bell pepper were obtained with a compact removable weighing lysimeter between February and August for two crop seasons (2019 and 2020). ETClys was determined from the water balance, and the K-Clys values were determined as the ratio of the crop evapotranspiration, measured on the removable weighing lysimeter, and the reference evapotranspiration. The K-Clys average values for the bell pepper in the initial, middle, and final stages were 0.57, 1.06, and 0.80, respectively. K-C regression models were obtained as a function of the fraction thermal units, achieving a maximum correlation of 0.67 (R-2). In general, the K-C values obtained in this research work were lower in the initial and in the final stages and larger in the middle stage in comparison with the FAO-56 values and other research works values in semiarid conditions. The bell pepper yield increased by 7.72% in 2019 and by 3.49% in 2020 compared to the yield reported by the Ministry of the Environment and Rural and Marine Areas of the Spanish Government in 2019 and with a minimum water loss through drainage. The results in this work can help farmers to determine the crop water requirements and to improve the system efficiency in semiarid locations with similar conditions to those in the study.

Automated summary

Water use efficiency is crucial in semiarid regions of Spain, and this study focused on obtaining evapotranspiration and crop coefficients for bell pepper using a compact removable weighing lysimeter. Results showed variations in crop coefficients at different growth stages compared to the FAO-56 values in semiarid conditions, indicating the potential to help farmers determine crop water requirements and enhance system efficiency.