Abstract

Irrigation scheduling is used by growers to determine the right amount and timing of water application. In most parts of Mozambique, 90% of the total yearly precipitation occurs from November to March. The El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phenomenon influences the climate in Mozambique and affects the water demand for crop production. The objectives of this work were to quantify the effects of ENSO phenomenon on tomato crop water requirements, and to create the AgroClimate irrigation tool (http://mz.agroclimate.org/) to assist farmers in improving irrigation management. This study was based on daily grid-based climate information from 1983 to 2016 from the Climate Forecast System Reanalysis. Daily crop evapotranspiration was calculated by Hargreaves equation and crop coefficients. This tool is available online and considers different planting dates, ENSO phases, and crop growing season lengths. Irrigation needs varied from less than 250 mm per growing cycle during winter to 550 mm during spring. Both El Niño and La Niña influenced the irrigation scheduling, especially from November to March. El Niño periods were related to increased water demand due to drier and warmer conditions, while the opposite was observed for La Niña. The ENSO information might be used to understand climate variability and improve tomato irrigation scheduling in Mozambique.

Highlights

  • Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) is the horticultural crop with the third largest area in Mozambique, only behind pumpkin and cucumber

  • All images can be downloaded and stored for posterior use to increase outreach the tool resulted in a water content in the soil close to the field capacity and the absence of crop water opportunities and use of the tool in locations with restricted or no access to internet

  • For the cycles starting from June to February, the use of the tool resulted in a water content in the soil close to the field capacity and the absence of crop water stress

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Summary

Introduction

Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) is the horticultural crop with the third largest area in Mozambique, only behind pumpkin and cucumber. Tomatoes are produced by more than 270,000 growers using an area larger than 36,000 ha [1]. Agriculture accounts for approximately 84% of the tomato production area in the country [2]. For most areas in Mozambique, 90% of the rain occurs from. The main tomato production season extends from March to October, which is the period with proper air temperatures for the crop development [3]. Irrigation is an essential practice for tomato production in the country. The irrigated area in Mozambique is around

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