Abstract
Actual crop evapotranspiration (ET) and crop coefficient (Kc) of ratoon rice crop, which are necessary for irrigation planning, have been hardly reported. ET can be directly measured by lysimeter and eddy covariance but it is expensive, so it remains difficult to determine ET, especially in developing countries. The focus of this study was to evaluate the ET and Kc of ratoon cropping in a tropical region of Myanmar using a simplified method. Our method combined the manual observation of water depth in concrete paddy tanks and the ET model estimation using Bayesian parameter inference. The ET and Kc could be determined using this method with an incomplete observation dataset. The total ET of ratoon was 60–70% less than that of the main crop, but this difference was mainly attributed to climate conditions in each cultivation. The Kc regression curve between transplanted rice and ratoon crops was different because of the tillering traits. The results suggest that irrigation scheduling of ratoon cropping in the initial growth stage should take high crop water requirements into account. In addition, the productivity of ratoon crop is equivalent to transplanted rice, which was determined for cultivation in experiment conditions of small concrete tanks. Therefore, further study on ratoon in Myanmar is necessary for clarifying the viability of ratoon cropping.
Highlights
Global rice production is projected to increase by 116 million tons by 2035 to meet the growing demand of an increasing population [1]
Ratoon rice doublecropping (main crop (MC) and ratoon), which refers to producing a second rice crop from the residual stubble after the main crop crop (MC) harvest, is useful as an alternate option to replace conventional double-cropping [5]
The total amount of ET for the RC1 (450 mm) was reduced by around 60% compared to the MainCrop crop 1 (MC1) (762 mm)
Summary
Global rice production is projected to increase by 116 million tons by 2035 to meet the growing demand of an increasing population [1]. Multiple rice cropping, which includes double- or triple-cropping and requires frequent rice harvesting on the same land, is one strategy to solve land shortages [3]. Labor shortages and rising labor costs are limiting factors [4]. Ratoon rice doublecropping (main crop (MC) and ratoon), which refers to producing a second rice crop from the residual stubble after the MC harvest, is useful as an alternate option to replace conventional double-cropping [5]. The annual yield of ratoon double-cropping is lower than conventional double-cropping, labor and production costs can be reduced. The annual net profit could be higher or equivalent to conventional double-cropping [6,7]
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