Lysimeter water balance for estimation of water requirement and crop coefficient of rice in a temperate climate

The field study on lysimeter water balance presented here pertains to the estimation of evapotranspiration and the crop coefficient of the main crop of rice being grown in the temperate region of Jammu and Kashmir, India. Two different locations of the Kashmir Valley were selected for the experimental study: Shalimar and Khudwani. The experimental studies were carried out during the crop season at these two locations with the help of two non-weighing type lysimeters (drainage type) of 1 m × 1 m × 1.5 m size. On the basis of the experimental observations and the other hydro-meteorological data, the average daily evapotranspiration (ETo) at these two locations was calculated and subsequently the crop coefficient (Kc) at the different crop growth stages. The Kc values for rice at the four crop growth stages (initial, development, mid-season, and late season) were 1.41, 1.43, 1.54, and 1.05, respectively at Shalimar and for Khudwani were 1.5, 1.45, 1.6, and 1.03, respectively. The crop water requirement was 770.1 mm and 742 mm at Shalimar and Khudwani, respectively.