Abstract
ABSTRACT When determining plant transpiration (TR) using the thermal dissipation probe method, it is necessary to calibrate the sap flow (SF) estimation equation for each species under study, and thus obtain reliable information about the water demand of crops. This study aims to calibrate the equation used to determine SF using the thermal dissipation probe for atemoya cultivation. The experiment was conducted in the experimental field of the Universidade do Estado da Bahia, Juazeiro, Northeast Brazil. Atemoya plants in the initial phase of development were transplanted into 21.5-l pots arranged on weighing platforms that acted as lysimeters. The SF was determined by the thermal dissipation probe method using 1-cm-long probes. The angular coefficient of the Granier equation was adjusted by minimizing the absolute deviations between the accumulated daily SF and TR measured using the lysimeter. The results demonstrated that the application of the Granier method is satisfactory for estimating the TR of the atemoya and that it is necessary to adjust the angular coefficient of the equation. The mean absolute error between SF and TR was 3.1%.
Highlights
The hybrid atemoya (Anonna squamosa x Anonna cherimola) obtained from the crossing of sweetsop with cherimoya, is among the few commercial species of the Annonaceae family that has received special attention from Brazilian producers and consumers (Silva et al, 2009)
Note that Atemoya plants of the Gefner variety were used; they were aged 18 months, grown in 21.5 l pots, arranged on three weighing platforms that functioned as lysimeters
The lysimeters were calibrated within the platform capacity range to a cumulative value of 65 kg, as per the procedure cited by Cabral (2013) and Schmidt et al (2013)
Summary
The hybrid atemoya (Anonna squamosa x Anonna cherimola) obtained from the crossing of sweetsop with cherimoya, is among the few commercial species of the Annonaceae family that has received special attention from Brazilian producers and consumers (Silva et al, 2009). More studies on the management of this plant are required (Silva et al, 2009), which will provide reliable information that can assist producers in the production process, especially in relation to water use. This plant requires water in great abundance for its growth and functioning (Taiz et al, 2017). For atemoya, which presents discontinuous soil coverage and differentiated management with the occurrence of defoliation for production, the use of these methods is hindered
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