Abstract
Irrigating plants based on their water requirements enhances water use efficiency and conservation; however, current irrigation practices for container-grown greenhouse plants largely relies on growers’ experiences, resulting in leaching and/or runoff of a large amount of water. To address water requirements of greenhouse-grown plants, this study adapted a canopy closure model and investigated actual evapotranspiration (ETA) of Calathea G. Mey. ‘Silhouette’ and Stromanthe sanguinea Sond. from transplanting to marketable sizes in a shaded greenhouse. The daily ETA per Calathea plant ranged from 3.55 mL to 59.39 mL with a mean cumulative ETA of 4.84 L during a 224 day growth period. The daily ETA of S. sanguinea varied from 7.87 mL to 97.27 mL per plant with a mean cumulative ETA of 6.81 L over a 231 day production period. The best fit models for predicting daily ETA of Calathea and Stromanthe were developed, which had correlation coefficients (r2) of 0.82 and 0.73, respectively. The success in modelling ETA of the two species suggested that the canopy closure model was suitable for quantifying water use of container-grown greenhouse plants. Applying the research-based ETA information in production could reduce water use and improve irrigation efficiency during Calathea and Stromanthe production.
Highlights
Freshwater is one of our most precious natural resources
Container plant production is an important sector of agriculture, which refers to growing plants from seedlings, liners, rooted cuttings, or grafted plants in containers or pots filled with substrates to marketable sizes or harvestable stages [4]
The present study investigated daily ETA of two important container-grown ornamental foliage plants, Calathea ‘Silhouette’ and S. sanguinea, from tissue-cultured liners to marketable sizes in a shaded greenhouse
Summary
Agricultural use of freshwater has been under rigorous scrutiny since irrigation withdrawals represent over 70% of all freshwater use worldwide [1,2]. In the United States (U.S.), irrigation accounts for 68% of groundwater and 29%. Of surface water withdrawals, encompassing up to 62% of all freshwater use [3]. Container plant production is an important sector of agriculture, which refers to growing plants from seedlings, liners, rooted cuttings, or grafted plants in containers or pots filled with substrates to marketable sizes or harvestable stages [4]. Container production is a widely-utilized method for growing a variety of plants including fruit, vegetable, nursery, and floriculture crops. Container production in the U.S currently accounts for approximately
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